ABSTRACT
In international law, the greatest achievement of uniformity has been the law relating to letters of credit. International Banks in 175 countries operate their letters of credit under the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP) sponsored by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). ‘This worldwide uniformity is due to the general acceptance of the [UCP] sponsored by the ICC’.2 The UCP ‘has, without a shred of doubt, become the cornerstone of the law pertaining to letters of credit’.3 The UCP has grown ‘from a set of practices followed only by the most important banks in western countries to a truly universal normative usage’.4 The latest revision by the ICC of the UCP was finalised in 1993 and is referred to as the UCP 500.5 Historically, the merchants rather than the lawyers have developed the rules concerning letters of credit through their usages. To ensure the continued popularity of the UCP and the counterparts, the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Art 5 and also International Standby Practices (ISP98), the drafters must be attentive in their review, ensuring practical relevance for the commercial parties.
