APPRAISAL OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF ELECTRONIC BILLS OF LADING IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This article is an appraisal of the legal framework for carriage of goods by sea in Nigeria. From inception in the 13th century, paper bill of lading (B/L) became a crucial document in international trade. However, it later exhibited some serious flaws which included susceptibility to fraud and delay in arrival at the destination port with the attendant demurrage costs. This prompted stakeholders in the shipping world to seek alternative ways of documentation which led to the introduction of electronic bills of lading (e-Bs/L) in international trade in mid 1980s. Unfortunately, since the introduction of e-Bs/L over 40 years ago, its implementation in Nigeria has been slow. The objective of this paper is to critically analyze Nigeria’s legal framework for carriage of goods by sea, comprising the Admiralty Jurisdiction Act, 1991 and the Evidence Act, 2011, in order to find out what legal issues have inhibited the implementation of e Bs/L in Nigeria. This paper employed the doctrinal research methodology, adopted the functional equivalence approach and found that Nigeria’s legal framework for carriage of goods by sea is grossly inadequate in supporting the implementation of e-Bs/L in Nigeria. This paper concluded that this inadequacy has been a major legal obstacle in implementation of e-Bs/L in Nigeria. Consequently, this paper strongly recommends that Nigeria’s legal framework should be comprehensively reviewed by Nigeria’s legislature by adopting appropriate provisions of the Comite Maritime International and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Laws’ Model Laws on Electronic Commerce; Electronic Signatures; and Electronic Transferable Records.