• Korea Trade Review
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.89-110
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• 2018

This paper reviews the practical operations and exceptions to the independent principle by analyzing the leading cases of English documentary credit transactions. A bank's undertaking in L/C transactions differentiates between underlying contract and other contracts. The autonomy principle is the key principle governing L/C, but this principle may be connected with unfair (unjust) payment. English Law is strongly influenced by the developments in American Law in the case of fraud, but traditionally, British courts has been very reluctant to interfere in banks' independent undertaking under the L/C. The position of British case law relating to fraud is based on Sztejn. In practice, British courts recognize fraud as an exception to the autonomy principle in which the case is sufficiently serious to render it unjust to permit the beneficiary to receive payment. British case law has historically taken a narrow approach toward intervention in the independent principle of documentary credit. Therefore, innocent parties including beneficiaries are protected by these regulations regarding fraud.