The prospect of revised Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP) drew closer last week with the first presentation of a draft containing most of the revisions put forward so far to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) rules that apply to letters of credit (L/Cs).

The presentation marked a landmark in the revision process, which, when complete and approved, will result in UCP 600. It will replace UCP 500, the international rules for documentary credits that came into force in 1994.

Comments and suggestions

International dialogue was much in evidence at the Dublin meeting where the draft UCP revision was presented. Some 170 members of the Commission on Banking Technique and Practice from 38 countries turned up on 27-28 June to provide comments and suggestions on the articles in the draft UCP revision.

ICC Banking Commission Meeting, Dublin, June 2005.
Hosted by Coastline Solutions. More photographs..

Members, observers and guests also listened to an overview of the thought processes and comments received so far by the UCP Drafting Group in relation to draft articles already circulated.

Global consultation

Several issues of substance and many more matters of detail remain to be resolved, and work on the UCP 500 will continue over the months as national committees seek views from UCP stakeholders - including people and organisations in shipping and insurance - in their countries and report their findings back to the Drafting Group.

The UCP Drafting Group has not pinned itself into a timeframe within which the UCP 600 will come into force, and the processes at work during the meeting highlighted that consultation is more important than haste in the revision process.

Thoughtful debate

Nevertheless, the dialogue facilitated in the main by the chair of the UCP Drafting Group - vice president and head of product management EMEA at ABN Amro Bank in London, Gary Collyer - clearly pushed the revision process forward.

The meeting hosted by Dublin-based Coastline Solutions - the company that produced DC-PRO - would have assured L/C users that when it arrives UCP 600 will be the product of much thought and debate.

Opposing views

It was also evident at the meeting that at this stage in the revision process there are some opposing views on matters of both principle and detail where members, sometimes in roughly equal balance, appear to hold opposing views.

Clearly it is possible that some of these views may not be fully reconciled in UCP 600 - but it will not be for lack of trying.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or any of the other partners in DC-PRO.