제목: 신용장 대금지급을 위한 서류심사에서 비서류적 조건(Non-documentary conditions)의 적용

저자: 김능우

요약
If the terms of the letter of credit do not specify the documents to be presented by the beneficiary, the question arises as to whether they should be viewed as non-documentary conditions. Non-documentary conditions are recognized for their validity on the basis of the principle of party autonomy. That is, the terms stated by the parties to the L/C in accordance with the principle of party autonomy should be respected, even if they are non-documentary. However, if the Bank acknowledges the validity of the non-executive conditions in accordance with the principle of party autonomy, it may raise the question of whether it can be regarded as a legitimate refusal to pay if the Bank refuses to accept or pay on the grounds of inconsistency between the non-executive conditions on the L/C and the presented documents. Therefore, it is important to note that the extent to which a bank may be involved in determining whether non-documentary conditions are valid, i.e. the discretion of a bank may vary depending on the issuing bank or the confirming bank. This is because even if the letter of credit specifies non-documentary conditions, the validity of the non-documentary conditions may be recognised if they can be determined through bank records or within ordinary operating practices.