From Code to Consent: Legal Validity of Machine-Made Declarations in International Trade

Kerstin Kern

doi:10.2991/978-94-6239-705-7_5

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From Code to Consent: Legal Validity of Machine-Made Declarations in International Trade

Authors

Kerstin Kern¹^{, *}

¹Free researcher, Konstanz, Germany

^*Corresponding author. Email: kern@kckern.des

Corresponding Author

Kerstin Kern

Available Online 13 June 2026.

DOI: 10.2991/978-94-6239-705-7_5 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Cross-border Trade; UNCITRAL Model Law on Automated Contracting; MLAC
Abstract: The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in supply chain management holds great potential for savings, as processes can be designed very efficiently without human intervention. However, the use of AI in cross-border trade requires that contractual declarations issued by the AI are legally valid. Unharmonized national law creates impediments with individual solutions for this problem. While prior instruments of the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) address e-commerce, they fall short on AI’s autonomy. A new Model Law on Automated Contracting (MLAC) shall fill this gap. This study employs a doctrinal research methodology to review the MLAC regarding its regulatory content within the framework of UNCITRAL texts, drawing on primary and secondary legal sources of the UNCITRAL as well as a comprehensive literature review. Through this approach, the article identifies both strengths and limitations of the MLAC and assesses its benefits for international businesses. Finally, the paper introduces a novel practitioner-focused framework for MLAC implementation.
Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access: Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title: Proceedings of the FIREtalk Conference - Research on FIRE! (research-on-fire 2025)
Series: Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date: 13 June 2026
ISBN: 978-94-6239-705-7
ISSN: 2352-5398
DOI: 10.2991/978-94-6239-705-7_5 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

ris enw bib

TY  - CONF
AU  - Kerstin Kern
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/13
TI  - From Code to Consent: Legal Validity of Machine-Made Declarations in International Trade
BT  - Proceedings of the FIREtalk Conference - Research on FIRE! (research-on-fire 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 51
EP  - 67
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-705-7_5
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-705-7_5
ID  - Kern2026
ER  -

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