Legal Instrument

The Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF 1999, amended from COTIF 1980 by the Vilnius Protocol) is OTIF's foundational text, governing the organization's operations, objectives, relations with member countries, and general activities. Through its Uniform Rules Concerning the Contract of International Carriage of Goods by Rail (CIM - Appendix B to the Convention), it provides a legal basis for electronic documentation in rail transport.

Key paperless trade provisions in the Uniform Rules (CIM - Appendix B) include:

• Establishment of consignment notes and duplicates in electronic data registration form
• Transformation of electronic data into legible written symbols
• Registration and data treatment procedures with functional equivalence
• Equal evidential value for electronic consignment note data
• Electronic data processing methods
• Digital authentication protocols
• Electronic record management
• Cross-border data exchange
• Digital verification procedures
• Electronic archiving standards