GDF Response to the Law Commission’s Consultation Paper on Digital assets and (electronic) trade documents in private international law
Global Digital Finance (GDF) convened its members to analyse the Law Commission’s Consultation Paper on Digital assets and (electronic) trade documents in private international law including Section 72 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882.
Our members recognise the importance of this consultation in shaping the legal foundation for digital assets, and we value the Commission’s recognition of the unique challenges posed by decentralisation and novel technologies. We are aligned with the objective of ensuring that the UK’s legal framework is both principle-based and technology-neutral, enabling innovation while safeguarding market integrity and consumer trust.
Our response cuts across several key themes which we believe should guide the development of the UK’s approach. The key themes are as follows:
1. Definitional Consistency: Alignment of terminology with FSMA, FCA, BoE and HMT frameworks is essential to avoid market confusion and ensure interoperability with international regimes.
2. Access to Justice in the Digital Environment: We support the introduction of free- standing information orders and threshold tests to enhance claimant access, while encouraging safeguards for proportionality, privacy, and cost burdens.
3. Cross-Border Enforcement & Jurisdiction: Clearer rules are needed to address enforcement challenges against overseas entities, risks of forum shopping, and the treatment of fungible or bridged tokens in cross-border claims.
4. Omniterritoriality & Decentralisation: We welcome the recognition that extreme decentralisation challenges traditional conflict-of laws approaches, but emphasise the need for statutory criteria, safeguards, and international convergence to avoid uncertainty.
5. Trade Documents Act Reform: We are broadly supportive of proposed amendments to Section 72 and related provisions, which modernise private international law rules for electronic trade documents and align contractual obligations with commercial realities.
6. International Alignment & Competitiveness: Across definitions, enforcement, and jurisdictional approaches, the UK must ensure coherence with global standards (e.g., MiCA, PSA, US frameworks) to maintain competitiveness as a hub for digital assets.
Download