MLETR (UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records)

UNCITRAL adopted the Model Law on 13 July 2017, and the UN General Assembly recommended it to all States in resolution 72/114 of 7 December 2017. UNCITRAL describes a model law as a suggested pattern for law-makers to consider adopting in domestic legislation, with flexibility to depart from the text. MLETR rests on non-discrimination against electronic means, functional equivalence and technology neutrality. Its core provisions deny discrimination against a record for being electronic (article 7), set the requirements for an electronic transferable record (article 10), treat control as the equivalent of possession (article 11), set a general reliability standard (article 12), allow change of medium between paper and electronic form (articles 17 and 18) and bar discrimination against records issued or used abroad (article 19). It does not change the substantive law governing transferable documents, including private international law (articles 1(2) and 19(2); Explanatory Note paragraph 11). As at 17 October 2026, UNCITRAL's status page lists legislation based on or influenced by MLETR in 13 jurisdictions, among them Singapore (2021), the United Kingdom (2023, marked as influenced by the Model Law) and France (2024). UNCITRAL says the list is indicative and that the years are years of enactment, not entry into force.