beendefined insomecountries, thoughnormally byreference tothemodeof imposition onthemediumratherthanbyreference tothenatureofthemedium itself. Forexample, undertheInterpretation Act1978intheUnited Kingdom, III"writing" includes typing, printing, lithography, photography and othermodesofrepresenting orreproducing wordsinavisible form,whilst section 1-201(46) oftheUniform Commercial CodeintheUnitedStatesprovides that"written" or"writing" includes printing, typewriting oranyother intentional reduction totangible form.Itisprobably thecasethatwhenever astatute usestheword"writing" without adefinition, thelegislator originally expected thewriting tobe on a traditional pieceofpaperorsome otherphysical mediumpermitting thewordstobereaddirectly byhumans.• 14.Thedefinition ofawriting hasoftenbeenextended toinclude atelegram ortelex,asinarticle 13oftheUnitedNations Convention onContracts for theInternational SaleofGoods. Inarticle 7(2)oftheUNCITRAL ModelLaw on • International Commercial Arbitration, thedefinition ofawriting hasbeen further extended toencompass "telex, telegrams, orothermeansof telecommunication whichprovide arecordoftheagreement". Article 4(3)of thedraftConvention ontheLiability ofOperators ofTransport Terminals in International Tradeprovides that"thedocument ••.maybeissuedinanyform whichpreserves arecordoftheinformation contained therein". Asimilar ideaisexpressed inthedefinition of"notice inwriting" inarticle 1(4)(b) ofthe1988UNIDROIT Convention onInternational Factoring, inwhichawriting "includes, butisnotlimited to,telegram, telexandanyother telecommunication capable ofbeingreproduced intangible form". B. Acomparative surveyofEuropean legislation: theTEDISstudy 15.In1988,theCommission oftheEuropean Communities begantoimplement theTEDIS(TradeElectronic DataInterchange Systems) programme, 121whichhas asoneofitspurposes thedevelopment ofanappropriate legalframework for theincreased useofEDIinthetwelvememberStatesoftheEuropean Communities. 131Oneofthefirstactivities inthelegalprogramme ofTEDIS wastoconduct ageneral studyoflegalobstacles totheincreasing useofEDI inthetwelvememberStatesoftheEuropean Communities, ashadbeen recommended inthe1985UNCITRAL resolution. Theresults ofthisstudy•• •A/CN.9/333 English Page7 ofnational legislation werepublished inFrenchin1989andanEnglish language version isexpected tobepublished soon.14/Asimilar analysis is tobecarried outinthenearfutureconcerning thenational lawsofthe memberStatesoftheEuropean FreeTradeAssociation, whichnowparticipate in theTEDISprogramme. Thecomplete studyisexpected tobereleased beforethe endof1990.Inaddition, theCommission oftheEuropean Communities has contracted for"theproduction ofareportanalysing theimpactofEDI on contract formation andformulating proposals fortheadaptation orthereform ofthecurrent legalsituation." 15/ 16.Thefindings oftheTEDISstudy,aswellasthedocuments ofa TEDIS-EDI LegalWorkshop heldinJune1989,16/provide avaluable indication ofwhat mightbeexpected toexistinthelegislation ofStatesnotcovered inthe studysincethetwelvememberStatesoftheEuropean Communities represent several majorlegalfamilies. Whilethespecific problems maydiffer from one Statetothenext,andtheremay becertain problems inlegalsystems outside Europethatwillnotappearinthevarious TEDISreports, thosereports constitute agoodindication ofthelegalissuesthatmayariseastheuseof EDIbecomes moregeneral. Inparticular, theygiveanindication ofissues thatwouldhavetobetakenintoaccount inanyregional orworldwide unification process. 17.Oneofthefindings ofthestudy17/wasthat,intheEuropean Communities, nocountry hadasyetfullyadapteditslegislation tomeetthe specific needsandproblems related tothedevelopment ofEDI.According to thestudy,themostdirectly relevant legislation wasanItalian statute that dealtwiththeorganization ofelectronic mailasapublicservice and determined underwhatconditions documents transmitted electronically through suchservice couldbegranted adegreeoflegalvalue. Otherlegislation that wasconsidered inthestudydealtonlyindirectly withEDI.Theissues considered inthosenational lawswere: theconditions underwhichcomputer records canbeadmitted as evidence incourt,withthesameevidentiary valueasthatofthe
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the legal aspects of electronic data interchange (EDI) and its implications on international trade and commerce. It mentions specific laws and regulations from various countries and international organizations, highlighting the need for a unified approach to address the challenges posed by EDI.

**Category**
Transport and communication, International trade