The Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credit (the UCP): Are they merely a set of Contractual Terms?

Chhina, Ramandeep Kaur

Abstract

The paper examines the true legal nature of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credit (the UCP) by applying the test: whether the UCP Rules will be applied or at least referred to by courts even when not expressly referred to by the parties and if so, what would be the legal basis upon which its application rests in such situations? This paper analyses four different approaches upon which the UCP's application can rest in these circumstances: (1) firstly, if the UCP is considered to be incorporated into a contract impliedly as a set of contractual terms; (2) secondly, by regarding it as an evidence of existing custom and usages; (3) thirdly, its application as an international commercial custom and; (4) finally, by considering it to be part of a new lex mercatoria.

Citation

Chhina, R. K. (2015). The Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credit (the UCP): Are they merely a set of Contractual Terms?. Banking and Finance Law Review, 30(2), 245-265

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 20, 2014
• Publication Date: 2015-04
• Deposit Date: Feb 13, 2018
• Journal: Banking and Finance Law Review
• Print ISSN: 0832-8722
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 245-265
• Keywords: Documentary credit, letters of credit, banking industry, commercial law,
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/1038383