Documentary credit decisions published for the first time

Collected DOCDEX Decisions 1997-2003 may be purchased online from the ICC Business Bookstore

Paris, 1 March 2004 - More than thirty decisions taken by ICC experts on documentary credits have been published for the first time in a single volume.

ICC's book of the month for March, Collected DOCDEX Decisions 1997-2003 brings together decisi ons made over a seven-year period. Indexed with references to the relevant articles of the ICC rules, DOCDEX Decisions answers a broad range of questions including:

• Can a standby letter of credit subject to UCP 500 also be the subject of a DOCDEX case?

DOXDEX is a rapid and cost-effective dispute resolution system used by bankers, lawyers and international trade and finance professionals worldwide who need quick decisions on outstanding documentary credit conflicts.

In his foreword, Gary Collyer, Technical Adviser, ICC Commission on Banking Techniques and Practice notes:

"Even though DOCDEX Decisions are not binding, they can be used as evidence if the parties later decide to go to court.

"Moreover, it is probable that if one party is armed with a DOCDEX Decision from ICC experts, the other party may well be deterred from going to court at all."

Other questions examined in the collection include:

• Should banks be required to investigate the means of delivery on a bill of lading?

• When can typographical errors in a credit be called a discrepancy?

• Must the issuing bank pay when one of the documents, an inspection certificate, is not presented to it?

• Is there a discrepancy when a master's receipt is signed "for the master"?

• What is the impact of an alleged forgery of a bill of lading?

Collected DOCDEX Decisions 1997-2003 may be purchased online from the ICC Business Bookstore and from ICC national committees throughout the world.