The UCP as a Choice of Non-State Law in International Commercial Contracts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2022/v25i0a14579Keywords:
Hague Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts, non-state law, choice of law, Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, governing law of the agreement, private international lawAbstract
The article analyses the UCP as a form of non-State law. It demonstrates that in some courts the UCP may inadvertently be applied as the governing law of the agreement instead of as contractual terms. The article proceeds to analyse the UCP against article 3 of the Hague Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts as well as along a set of criteria, developed by the author, that endeavours to provide certainty in the choice of non-State law. On the basis of the application of the above criteria the article comes to the conclusion that the UCP would be suitable as a choice of governing law of the agreement.
Downloads
References
Bibliography
Literature
Adams F "The Semi-Autonomy of the Arbitral Legal Order" 2020 AIAJ 139-158 DOI: https://doi.org/10.54648/AIAJ2020019
Adams F "Choice of Islamic Law in the Context of the Wider Lex Mercatoria: An Express Choice of Non-State Law in Contract" 2021 TSAR 59-74 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47348/TSAR/2021/i1a4
Berman PS "From International Law to Law and Globalization" 2005 Colum J Transnat'l L 485-556
Ellinger P and Neo D The Law and Practice of Documentary Letters of Credit (Bloomsbury London 2010)
Fredericks EA and Neels JL "The Proper Law of a Documentary Letter of Credit (Part 1)" 2003 SA Merc LJ 63-73
Goode R "Usage and Its Reception in Transnational Commercial Law" 1997 ICLQ 1-36 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020589300060097
Hugo CF "The Development of Documentary Letters of Credit as Reflected in the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Letters of Credit" 1993 Merc LJ 44-77
Hugo CF "The Legal Nature of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits: Lex Mercatoria, Custom or Contracts?" 1994 South African Mercantile Law Journal 143-168
International Chamber of Commerce Commentary on UCP 600: Article by Article Analysis by the UCP 600 Drafting Group (ICC Publishing Paris 2007)
Liang J Party Autonomy in Contractual Choice of Law in China (Cambridge University Press Cambridge 2018) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316718377
Michaels R "Non-State Law in the Hague Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts" in Purnhagen K and Rott P (eds) Varieties of European Economic Law and Regulation: Liber Amicorum for Hans Micklitz (Springer Berlin 2014) 43-69 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04903-8_3
Mills A Party Autonomy in Private International Law (Cambridge University Press Cambridge 2018) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139941419
Moore S Law as Process: An Anthropological Approach (Routledge London 1978) Mustill 1988 Arb Int'l Mustill M "The New Lex Mercatoria: The First Twenty-Five Years" 1988 Arb Int'l 86-119 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/arbitration/4.2.86
Oelofse A The Law of Documentary Letters of Credit in Comparative Perspective (Interlegal Pretoria 1997)
Rodrigo T "UCP 500 to UCP 600: A Forward Movement" 2011 Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law 1-21
Saumier G "The Hague Principles and the Choice of Non-State Rules of Law" 2014 Brooklyn J Int'l L 533-547
Schulze W "The UCP 600: A New Law Applicable to Documentary Letters of Credit" 2009 SA Merc LJ 228-248
Sharrock R Business Transactions Law (Juta Cape Town 2017)
Tamanaha BZ "Understanding Legal Pluralism: Past to Present, Local to Global" 2008 Syd LR 375-411
Taylor D The complete UCP (ICC Publishing Paris 2008)
Toth O The New Lex Mercatoria in Theory and Practice (Oxford University Press Oxford 2016) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199685721.001.0001
Van Niekerk JP and Schulze WG The South African Law of International Trade: Selected Topics (Saga Legal Pretoria 2016)
Wethmar-Lemmer M " When Can a South African Court be Expected to Apply the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG)" 2008 De Jure 419-428
Case law
Canada
Bank of Nova Scotia v Angelica-Whitewear Ltd et al 36 DLR (4th) 161 (1987)
China
Lianyungang Koufu Food Co Ltd v Industrial Bank of Korea Seoul and Bank of China 30 December 2002, Nanjing Intermediate People's Court; 23 December 2003 Jiangsu Higher People's Court
England
Co-operative Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerleenbank BA ("Rabobank Nederland") v The Sumitomo Bank Ltd 1988 WL 62281
Power Curber International Ltd v National Bank of Kuwait [1981] 1 WLR 124
Shamil Banking of Bahrain v Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd [2004] App LR 01/28
United City Merchants (Investments) Ltd v Royal Bank of Canada [1979] 1 Lloyd's Rep 267 and [1979] 2 Lloyd's Rep 498 (Queen's Bench)
United City Merchants (Investments) Ltd v Royal Bank of Canada [1983] 1 AC 168 (HL)
Germany
BGH 1992 WM 927 (German Federal Court)
Netherlands
Dutch Hoge Raad, 1977 NJ No 209
South Africa
Casey v First Rand Bank Ltd 2014 2 SA 374 (SCA)
F ADAMS PER / PELJ 2022 (25) 24
Ex Parte Sapan Trading (Pty) Ltd 1995 1 SA 218 (W)
Loomcraft Fabrics CC v Nedbank Ltd 1996 1 SA 812 (A)
Phillips v Standard Bank of South Africa 1985 3 SA 301 (W)
Transcontinental Procurement Services cc v ZVL & ZKL International AS 2000 CLR 67 (W)
Union Carriage and Wagon Co Ltd v Nedcor Bank Ltd 1996 CLR 724 (W)
Vereins-und Westbank AG v Veren Investments 2000 4 SA 238 (W)
Vereins-und Westbank AG v Veren Investments 2002 4 SA 421 (SCA)
United States of America
First City, Texas-Houston NA v Gnat Robot Corporation 813 SW 2d 230 (1991)
Maritime Midlands Grace Trust Co v Banco del Pais 261 F Supp 884 (SDNY 1966)
Sztejn v Henry Schroder Banking Corporation 31 NYS 2d 631 (1941)
Legislation
China
Conflicts Law Statute, 2010
General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China, 1986
South Africa
General Law Amendment Act 50 of 1956
United States of America
Uniform Commercial Code (1952)
International instruments
Hague Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts (2015)
ICC Rules for the Use of Domestic and International Trade Terms: INCOTERMS (1936), as last updated in 2020
UNIDROIT Principles on International Commercial Contracts (2016)
Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (1933), as last amended in 2007
United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (1980)
Internet sources
Altenkirch M and Frohloff J 2017 International Arbitration Statistics 2016 – Busy Times for Arbitral Institutions https://globalarbitrationnews.com/ international-arbitration-statistics-2016-busy-times-for-arbitral-institutions/#_ftn8 accessed 3 August 2022
ICC 2009 https://iccwbo.org/media-wall/news-speeches/un-endorses-icc-documentary-credit-rules/
International Chamber of Commerce 2009 UN Endorses ICC Documentary Credit Rules https://iccwbo.org/media-wall/news-speeches/un-endorses-icc-documentary-credit-rules/ accessed 1 August 2022
International Chamber of Commerce Banking Commission 2016 Rethinking Trade and Finance 2016 https://cdn.iccwbo.org/content/uploads/sites/ 3/2016/10/ICC-Global-Trade-and-Finance-Survey-2016.pdf accessed 4 August 2022
Supreme People's Court 2005 Announcement of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China http://www.asianlii.org/
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Faadhil Adams
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
.png){kind=spacer}