My wish list for the next UCP

Introduction

It is a no-brainer that a revised version of the UCP will be released at some point in time in the future. Significant changes were made when UCP 500 was revised. The birth of the ISBP itself was a major development. What will the new number be, what could be the possible changes – as of today these are all in the realm of conjecture. One might hum, “Key sera, sera…” and move on. Alternately, one could indulge in a bit of constructive guesswork, and offer a few suggestions before the next Drafting Group gets down to business.

A major step in this direction was taken by Kim Sindberg when he published his blog on the subject on 11 February 2015[1]. In a very interesting piece, he laid out the framework, and outlined the issues that needed to be addressed. Inspired by his blog, the following is my take on the subject.[2]

General:

a)     Ever since its creation, the UCP had been sailing in two boats. The very core of it operation is based on the laws related to bills of exchange. For very compelling, technical reasons this should now end[3]. The UCP should be a converted into an independent, stand-alone document, and should be revised (rather, overhauled) accordingly.

(Contd.....)

[The complete article is available in the book 'Beyond Trade Finance', published on 13-Apr-2021 by Notion Press, and available at https://notionpress.com/read/beyond-trade-finance or at https://www.amazon.in/dp/1638508666]

---

[1] http://lcviews.com/index.php?page_id296

[2] Published in Trade Services Update Volume 17, Issue 4, October-December 2015

[3] Refer to my article What’s draft got to do with documentary credits? for details.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Do LCs have expiry dates?: DCInsight, pp. 16-17, Volume 19 No.2, April-June 2013

[6] Refer to Article 12, UCP 600 - a critical analysis: http://rnbose.blogspot.in/2013/04/article-12-ucp-600-critical-analysis.html