Holder

In UK law, the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 defines the holder as a person in possession of the bill who is the named consignee, or who obtained it through a completed indorsement and delivery or, for a bearer bill, another transfer (section 5(2)). A person who becomes holder in good faith is the "lawful holder", in whom rights of suit under the contract of carriage vest (sections 2(1) and 5(2)). If signed with the carrier's authority, the bill is conclusive evidence of shipment against the carrier in the lawful holder's favour (section 4). The Rotterdam Rules (2008; not in force as at 17 October 2026) define the holder of a negotiable transport document in similar terms, and add the electronic case: the person to whom a negotiable electronic transport record has been issued or transferred under the agreed procedures (article 1(10)). The holder is entitled to claim delivery (article 47). The UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) does not define "holder". It uses "person in control", who stands in the same legal position as the possessor of the paper equivalent; whether that person is entitled is left to substantive law (article 11; Explanatory Note paragraphs 113 and 114). The UK Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 instead makes electronic trade documents capable of possession (section 3(1)).