The Law and Practice of Documentary Letters of Credit

Description

Letters of credit have retained their role as an instrumentality for the financing of foreign trade. An understanding of the law and practice in point is imperative for lawyers advising business people and bank clients, as well as for the banking and trading communities. The book examines the topic on the basis of the common law system, primarily UK law, and adopts an approach that is analytical and not merely descriptive. Letter of credit transactions are, by their nature, international and most nations have adopted the Uniform Customs and Practices ("UCP") originally promulgated by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in 1933 and updated from time to time. Today, the UCP constitutes a code of internationally accepted rules governing letter of credit transactions. The authors have therefore selectively incorporated some comparative discussion, for instance, of the position in the USA and Europe. The book will be an essential work of reference for commercial lawyers in all the major financial centres of Europe, America and Asia.

Peter Ellinger is Emeritus Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore, and a world-renowned expert on banking and financial law. He published his first book on the subject in 1974 and has since been the editor of the relevant chapter (No 23) in Benjamin's Sale of Goods. He has substantial experience with the drafting of bank documents respecting international trade, in the writing of opinions on issues arising in commerce and as an expert witness. Dora Neo is an Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore. She obtained her law degrees from Oxford and Harvard Universities. She has been teaching courses on letters of credit and has published on the subject.

... Professors Ellinger and Neo are to be congratulated on writing a text on a very specialized and technical area which succeeds in setting out both a detailed review of the broad range of legal issues that arise and a detailed discussion of the practical matters to be considered by banks in their review of credits and their accompanying documents. -- Steven Jeffery * Banking and Finance Law Review, Volume 26. 3 *