Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 set to be a law

Posted on July 21, 2023   |  

(ETDA) The Electronic Trade Documents Act will soon be given Royal Assent and will be enforced 2 months after. 

The Act will lawfully recognize specific electronic trade and trade finance documents as equal to their paper equivalent, with the same lawful acceptance and functionality.

English law cannot hold electronic documents legally to implement rights to payment or delivery of goods on board a ship or in a warehouse until the law is in effect.

However, the idea of ‘possession’ in law will only affect specific trade documents, not digital assets.

It will decrease the swapping time of physical documentation to minutes for travel and ensure the UK is the international leader in the digitalization of trade documents.

The ETDA will recognize the following in their electronic form:

Bills of exchange and promissory notes

Bills of lading and ship’s delivery orders

Warehouse receipts and mate’s receipts 

Marine insurance policies and certain insurance certificates