A study of the requirements of a bill of lading as a shipping document in CIF contracts

Abstract

This thesis is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter, which serves as an introduction to the whole work, consists in an overview of bills of lading as shipping documents in the ambit of Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) contracts. Apart from a detailed definition of a bill of lading, other documents which are required to be tendered in a CIF contract are also mentioned and defined. Moreover, a distinction is made between the bill of lading and other similar shipping documents. The second chapter focuses on the main characteristics and requirements of a CIF bill of lading, including genuineness, validity, negotiability and endorsement, while the third chapter deals with the function of the bill of lading as a receipt of the goods shipped, including a detailed analysis of the meaning and implications of a so-called 'clean' bill of lading, as well as a detailed distinction between a "shipped" and a "received for shipment" bill of lading. The fourth chapter of the thesis consists of a discussion on the meaning of a 'continuous documentary cover' which must be provided by the CIF seller to the buyer from shipment to destination, as well as an analysis of 'through' bills of lading. The effectiveness of the bill of lading as a document of title and as a contract of carriage are respectively analysed in detail throughout the fifth and sixth chapters of the thesis. The seventh and last chapter is dedicated to electronic bills of lading, wherein a discussion is made on the way in which recent developments have affected, and will continue to affect, the ordinary bill of lading, including the shift from paper-based to electronic bills of lading.