Exclusive control

Under the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR), a legal requirement for possession of a transferable document is met if a reliable method establishes exclusive control of the electronic record by a person and identifies that person as the person in control; transfer of control replaces transfer of possession (article 11). The Explanatory Note says control is deliberately undefined because it mirrors possession, which varies by jurisdiction, and that "exclusive" is added for clarity; control may still be exercised concurrently, and whether it is legitimate is for substantive law (paragraphs 106 and 111). The UK Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 requires a reliable system to secure that no more than one person can exercise control at any one time, with persons acting jointly treated as one; a person exercises control by using, transferring or otherwise disposing of the document, and merely reading it is not enough (section 2(2)(c), (3) and (4)). Its Explanatory Notes say the aim is to prevent the same document being transferred twice (paragraph 39). Singapore's Electronic Transactions Act 2010 follows MLETR (section 16I). The Rotterdam Rules (2008; not in force as at 17 October 2026) define issuance and transfer of a negotiable electronic transport record by reference to exclusive control (article 1(21)-(22)).