(1) The carrier is to sign the bill of lading; reproductions of the personal signatures by means of printing or stamp are sufficient.
(2) An electronic record having the same functions as a bill of lading is deemed equivalent to a bill of lading, provided that the authenticity and integrity of the record are assured (electronic bill of lading).
(3) The Federal Ministry of Justice hereby is authorised to determine by statutory instrument, issued in agreement with the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community and not requiring the consent of the Federal Council (Bundesrat), the details of issuing, presenting, returning and transmitting an electronic bill of lading, as well as the particulars of the process of posting retroactive entries to an electronic bill of lading.