ICC today announced the release of ICC Banking Commission Opinions 2005-2008. This new publication is the latest in the celebrated series of Banking Commission Opinions dating back more than 30 years.

The UCP 600 rules gave rise to numerous queries from lawyers, banks and shippers, and this new volume, the first in four years, provides precise answers to the questions raised by the new rules.

The 79 Opinions include the first Opinions rendered on UCP 600, ICC’s universally used rules on documentary credits, which came into effect on 1 July 2007.

Opinions 2005-2008  includes sections on definitions and interpretations, replacement of the term ‘reasonable time’ with a maximum of five banking days for examining documents and re-drafted transport articles aimed at resolving confusion over the identification of carriers, masters, and agents. These changes, along with the tendency of some banks to exclude certain of the revised UCP articles in their credits, have generated several of the Opinions in the new book.

This new volume also includes Opinions on ISBP 681, the revised version of the International Standard Banking Practice for the Examination of Documents under Documentary Credits, updated to be consistent with UCP 600; final opinions on UCP 500; and recent Opinions on the Uniform Rules for Collections (URC) and the Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG 458).  

“The Banking Commission Opinions, often cited by courts, are invaluable guides to how ICC Rules are interpreted by practitioners in their daily jobs.” said ICC senior editor Ron Katz.

To order a copy, please  click here 

Gary Collyer, Editor of the Opinions will be chairing a conference on  Applying the principles of UCP 600 in today's turbulent environment   on 18-19 June 09 in Paris.