Commentary on sections of the Act Section 4: Change of form or medium
Section 4 allows for change of form or medium of a trade document from electronic to paper form, and from paper to electronic form. It uses the word "converted" to describe the act of changing the medium of a trade document; it does not refer to the tort of conversion. The purpose of section 4 is to provide that a change of form or medium is permissible, to set out clearly the requirements that must be met for a valid change of medium, and to provide for the consequences thereof. Many of the documents that the Act covers are used in cross-border transactions spanning multiple jurisdictions and involving contracts governed by different laws. It is inevitable that different jurisdictions will recognise electronic trade documents to varying extents. It may therefore be necessary in some situations to replace an electronic trade document with a paper substitute. For the sake of completeness, a paper trade document may also be converted into an electronic trade document.
	Upon a change of medium, it is only the medium or form of the document that changes. If there is any substantive change to the content of the document upon the purported change of medium, this would constitute a fresh issue, not a change of form or medium. Where it is only the medium of the document that is changing (rather than the document being re-issued), the date and place of issue of the document in its new medium would be the same as that of the document in its old medium.