UNCITRAL Project on Negotiable Cargo Documents

United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group VI (Negotiable Cargo Documents) held its 44^th Session at the UN Headquarters in New York, 6-10 May 2024.

In July 2019, P.R. China presented a proposal based on the practical needs of importers and exporters in international trade on possible future work by UNCITRAL towards development of a negotiable transport document to facilitate multimodal carriage of goods, particularly by railway in the Euro-Asian space. The proposal pointed out that, unlike the ocean bill of lading, the railway consignment note does not serve as a document of title and its limited function also constrained the financing ability of banks and other institutions and increased financial pressure on importers and the risks faced by exporters in collecting payments.