DC Insight

With a new revision of International Standard Banking Practice (ISBP) on the horizon, our page 3 story features an interview with the Banking Commission's Technical Adviser, Gary Collyer. Gary, who chairs the Drafting Group working on the revision, is a frequent contributor in these pages, and his insights into L/C practice are always revealing.

In the interview, Gary responds to some of the common questions being raised about the revision. Why, five years after the last ISBP revision, was it deemed necessary to do another one? Is the ISBP equivalent to, a complement to the UCP? Will the new ISBP overrule any of the language in the previous version? What are the most controversial issues facing the ISBP Drafting Group?

I believe you will find Gary's answers to be frank and informative. The ISBP is one of the most important ICC documents dealing with L/C practice, and each new version is a major reference tool for bankers and practitioners worldwide.

Also in this issue we continue our regular feature "Documentary dialogue", in which two writers take different positions on an L/C issue of topical interest. This time the issue is that old standby "reasonable time", which was included in UCP 500 but dropped in UCP 600. One of our debaters, Rupnarayan Bose, takes issue with sub-article 15 (a) of UCP 600 and wonders why the drafters did not specify the number of days an issuing bank has before it must honour. Dan Taylor, a UCP 600 Drafting Group member, responds. We take pleasure in these dialogues, not only because we enjoy debate, but because they show both sides of issues that interest practitioners.