Compliance & legal affairs

Legal certainty for digital transport documents

The legal equivalence of paper and digital documents requires a solution that reproduces the functions of a handwritten signature in the digital world.
Journey: Signature solutions & driver experienceE

With a paper consignment note, authenticity is traditionally safeguarded through signatures and possession of the original document. For digital documents, these same functions must be replicated technically, i.e. who created the document and when, has it been altered, and which version is valid?

In principle, two methods are available for securing an eCMR digitally: electronic signatures and electronic seals.

• Electronic signature: An electronic signature is assigned to a natural person. It serves to prove that a specific person made a declaration or confirmed a process. In the context of the eCMR, this could, for example, be a driver, an employee of the consignor or an employee of the consignee.
• Electronic seal: An electronic seal is assigned not to a natural person but to a legal entity, i.e. a company or organisation. It serves as the digital equivalent of a company stamp.
  Whereas a signature proves that a specific individual has acted, a seal proves that a document originates from a specific company and has not been altered since it was sealed.

Trust levels under the eIDAS Regulation

The eIDAS Regulation distinguishes three trust levels for both signatures and seals: the simple electronic signature or seal, the advanced electronic signature (AdES) or advanced electronic seal (AdESeal), and the qualified electronic signature (QES) or qualified electronic seal (QESeal).
The qualified electronic signature provides the highest evidential value and is legally equivalent to a handwritten signature. However, its use requires qualified certificates as well as identity verification of the signatory. No such legal equivalence exists for seals because a seal does not replace a person’s declaration of intent. A seal does, however, confirm the origin of a document, the integrity of its contents and its association with an organisation.

Legal requirements for the eCMR

Neither Article 3 of the eCMR Protocol nor the European eIDAS Regulation prescribes a specific technical solution for the eCMR.

The eCMR Protocol merely requires that the method used reliably verifies the identity of the parties involved, ensures the authenticity of the data and guarantees the integrity of the document. The common assumption that an eCMR must necessarily be signed using a qualified electronic signature solution is therefore incorrect. The eCMR Protocol allows different technical implementations, provided the legal requirements are met.

The eIDAS Regulation likewise does not require a qualified electronic signature. Instead, it defines the legal framework and requirements for electronic signatures, electronic seals and other trust services. What matters is that the solution used makes the origin of a document traceable, demonstrably protects it against alteration and provides reliable evidence of its creation and processing.

Legally compliant document integrity with the OLF-eSEAL

The Open Logistics Foundation has chosen to use electronic seals. From a legal perspective, electronic seals can satisfy the requirements of the eCMR Protocol just as effectively as electronic signatures. At the same time, they are considerably simpler and more efficient for companies to implement. Instead of equipping every person involved in the transport operation with an individual signature certificate, the company itself can act as the trusted issuer. This significantly simplifies implementation, operation and user management.
Each company maintains an internal authorisation and permission system that clearly defines which person(s) may use the electronic seal on behalf of the company.

The OLF sealing solution (OLF-eSEAL) ensures:

• the unambiguous origin of the document,
• protection against undetected alterations,
• traceability of versions,
• the integrity of the eCMR throughout its entire lifecycle.

The OLF-eSEAL therefore fulfils the requirements of the eCMR Protocol and provides a practical solution for digital transport documentation.

A further advantage is that the OLF-eSEAL is not limited to the eCMR. The technology can also be used for other transport and logistics documents, enabling consistent, legally compliant protection of digital documents throughout the entire supply chain.

Responsibilities and liability

Responsibility for operation, data storage, compliance with regulatory requirements, and the correct use of components and the reference implementation from the OLF-eCMR Toolbox lies with the respective software providers and user companies.

The Open Logistics Foundation develops and publishes the OLF-eCMR Toolbox as an open standard and provides the associated specifications and reference implementations. However, it is not the operator of live eCMR systems and does not process transport data.