A Study on the Main Contents of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, 2007 Revision, ICC Publication No. 600(UCP 600)

제6차 개정 신용장통일규칙(UCP 600)의 주요 내용에 관한 연구

The UCP is an authoritative compilation of the customs and practice of letters of credit observed by most of the participants in the transaction. It remains the most successful set of private rules for trade ever developed. First issued in 1933, the UCP has been through five revisions, the latest being the present UCP 500, which came into force in 1994. Since 1994, new developments in transport, insurance, electronic commerce and banking industry have spurred the current revision of the rules. The ICC Banking Commission approved UCP 600 on October 25, 2006 by a unanimous vote of 91 to 0. The revision, which will come into effect on July 1, 2007, incorporates a number of changes from UCP 500 as follows : UCP 600 has a leaner set of rules, with 39 articles rather than 49 articles of UCP 500; New sections on "definitions" and "interpretations" have been added to clarify the meaning of ambiguous terms; The phrase "reasonable time" for acceptance or refusal of documents has been replaced by a firm period of five banking days; UCP 600 allows for the discounting of deferred payment credits. However, UCP 600 has two main problems such as the inconsistency with insurance industry and the banking community-oriented rules. We have some months before the commencement of UCP 600. From today to the commencement of UCP 600, we should study the full contents of UCP 600 and the influences on the trade industry.