UCP 500, article 13, saw the first reference to a sub-heading in UCP described as 'Standard for Examination of Documents'. The major change came with the introduction of examining documents in order to ascertain ‘compliance' with ‘international standard banking practice'.
UCP 600, article 14, contains some key rules in respect of the standards to be adopted when examining documents presented under a documentary credit. These are supplemented and enhanced by the content of ‘International Standard Banking Practice for the Examination of Documents under UCP 600' (ISBP 745).
UCP 600, article 2, defines 'complying presentation' as a presentation that is in accordance with the terms and conditions of the credit, the applicable provisions of these rules and international standard banking practice
UCP 600, sub-article 14 (a) states that banks examine a presentation to determine, on the basis of the documents alone, whether or not the documents appear on their face to constitute a complying presentation. It therefore follows that, apart from regulatory requirements e.g., a review for entities or countries that are subject to applicable sanction regulations, a bank is not required to look beyond the data that appears on the face of the documents to determine their compliance. For example, a bank is not required to contact a carrier to determine whether a bill of lading was actually issued or to enquire whether the vessel sailed on the date indicated, or to contact a certain issuer to confirm the validity of any facts that may be stated in a document. This position is further endorsed by the content of UCP 600 article 34.
The key issue to note in respect of ‘international standard banking practice' is that it goes far beyond that enshrined in ISBP 745 which concentrates on the document examination stage. There are many other practices that can be considered as international standards including document-checking practices that are not included within ISBP. As mentioned in the introduction to ISBP 745, no single publication can reflect all interpretations and standard practices.
In an article by Bernard Wheble in 1996, he provided the following pertinent observations: "It may be worth noting the view of the American lawyer who completed, in 1978, chapter 5 of the International Encyclopaedia of Comparative Law that: "... together, the 1974 and 1962 Revisions of the UCP are, without doubt the most influential source of commercial letter of credit law in the world" (at 5.13); that: "the draftsmen of the UCP had a realistic and modest goal. The intent was not to codify all the relevant rules of law, customary or otherwise, but rather to compile international banking customs and other rules facilitating banking customs" (at 5.25); and that: "the report documents of the ICC Commission on Banking Technique and Practice reveal, not only an attempt to reflect the banking practices, but also to dictate the most prudent course of behaviour, irrespective, at times, of existing usage, course of dealing or custom, thereby forging new customary law." (at 5.36)"
It is unarguable that UCP itself, since inception, has made a large contribution to providing uniformity in international standard banking practice.