4.2 Kinds and Characteristics of Bill of Lading

The kinds (the catalogue): The shipped B/L (the goods on board) vs. the received-for-shipment B/L (the goods received, not yet loaded); The clean B/L (no adverse notation) vs. the claused/dirty B/L (the damage-or-shortage notation — the L/C world's refusal ground, Unit 6); The negotiable/order B/L (transferable by endorsement — the title's circulation) vs. the straight B/L (named consignee — non-negotiable) vs. the bearer B/L (delivery to the holder); The through and multimodal B/Ls (the single document across legs — the landlocked Nepal's lifeline); The charter-party B/L (issued under a charter — the carrier's third-party liability questions). The characteristics — the THREE functions (the exam's must): A RECEIPT — the goods' shipment evidence: the quantity and apparent condition's notation (the clean-vs-clause world); in the hands of a good-faith holder, CONCLUSIVE (the estoppel against the carrier's later contradiction); EVIDENCE OF THE CONTRACT — the carriage's terms' memorandum (the standard-form conditions of Unit 3); A DOCUMENT OF TITLE — the goods' symbolic possession: the transfer by endorsement passes constructive possession; the carrier must deliver AGAINST SURRENDER of the original — the B/L as the financing collateral (the L/C's foundation) and the delivery's control.