The digital waybill
The electronic waybill (also known as the e-waybill) made its appearance in international road transport with the introduction of the e-CMR Protocol (the Protocol) in 2008. The Protocol provides the legal framework for the use of digital waybills. This blog discusses which European Union (EU) member states allow the use of digital waybills. It then discusses what agreements parties should make when using the digital waybill and what requirements a digital waybill should meet.
Status of the digital waybill
To date, only seven countries have ratified the Protocol and half of the countries that are part of the CMR Convention are also members of the Protocol. Furthermore, a pilot for the use of the digital waybill in intra-Benelux road transport has been running since 2017.
Starting with the corona crisis, the use of the digital waybill is increasing. However, it is still not possible to introduce the digital waybill in every EU member state. This will be changed by the Electronic Freight Transport Information Regulation (eFTI) starting in 2025. From then on, all EU member states will be obliged to accept, in addition to paper, also digital waybills for the transport of goods by road, rail, inland waterways and air.
Make arrangements for use
Parties wishing to use the digital waybill are required by the Protocol to make agreements about it which are then stated on the waybill and easily accessible (Article 5 e-CMR Protocol). The agreements must cover, for example, the method of preparation and delivery of the digital waybill, safeguards for maintaining the integrity of the digital waybill, the manner in which parties claim rights arising from a digital waybill, the manner in which it is confirmed that a digital waybill has been delivered to the consignee, and the procedures for supplementing or amending the digital waybill. The aforementioned agreements may be included in general conditions, provided that they are referred to on the digital waybill and provided that the general conditions are easily accessible by, for example, placing a hyperlink.
Digital waybill equivalent to paper version?
According to the Protocol, the digital waybill must meet several requirements, most importantly that parties can rely on the integrity of the data and the digital signature. If the digital waybill meets these requirements, it is legally considered equivalent to the paper waybill and has the same probative value and the same effects (Article 2 e-CMR Protocol).
The digital waybill must be authenticated by a reliable digital signature
(Article 3 e-CMR Protocol). The Protocol does not provide a well-defined definition of reliable authentication, but it does contain a number of indications for reliable authentication:
- The first clue is that a digital signature is uniquely linked to the signer. This could include a PIN code or a written signature that is converted into a digital signature. In addition, it may be possible in the future to use more inventive methods for this purpose, such as fingerprints or facial recognition.
- The second clue is that the digital signature must provide the ability to identify the signer. This indication more or less coincides with the first one. Furthermore, it is important that the digital signature can only be made by means that belong to the signatory. In practice, this may mean, for example, that the sender, addressee and carrier can no longer use the same handheld computer (also called a handheld terminal or PDA).
- Finally, the third instruction is that subsequent changes to data on the digital waybill must be traceable to the person who made the change.
Disclaimer! These are only indications, so if a method differs from this, it does not necessarily mean that that method of digital signature is inadequate. For international transport - outside the Benelux - this means that parties themselves can develop software programs that facilitate the use of a digital waybill. Within the Benelux, however, parties are obliged to purchase software from recognized e-CMR software suppliers. The list of approved software suppliers can be found on the NIWO (National and International Road Transport Organization) website.
Furthermore, in addition to requiring that the method of digital signing be reliable, it is also important that the digital waybill have the same data as the paper waybill. That data must be accessible to any party entitled to do so. In addition, it must be possible to store the data. In addition to the requirements of the Protocol, it is important to secure all data related to the waybill, because in principle, each company is responsible for its own IT systems and therefore also for their security. For more information, see our blog on cybersecurity.
