Letters of Credit in UK Law

Sirius accept that the second condition of the 3 rd September 1999 agreement was not fulfilled when the letter of credit was drawn down and that it is not now fulfilled. The case proceeded before the judge on the basis that it could never have been fulfilled once the terms of the Funding Agreement disabled Agnew from proceeding against Sirius. The cross-appeal arises on a finding by this court that the first condition was not fulfilled either.

By means of it, banks are protected and the cash nature of letters of credit is maintained. There is no authority extending this autonomy for the benefit of the beneficiary of a letter of credit so as to entitle him as against the seller to draw the letter of credit when he is expressly not entitled to do so.

This analysis accords with the judgment of Phillips J in the Deutsche Ruckverischerung case at page 10He was concerned that the commercial effectiveness of letters of credit would be eroded if a claimant could prevent a beneficiary from drawing on the letter of credit by doing no more than to persuade the court that there was a seriously arguable case that the claim under the underlying contract was invalid.

Irrevocable letters of credit and bank guarantees given in circumstances such that they are the equivalent of an irrevocable letter of credit have been said to be the life blood of commerce. Thrombosis will occur if, unless fraud is involved, the Courts intervene and thereby disturb the mercantile practice of treating rights thereunder as being the equivalent of cash in hand.

The object of the direction, as the Treasury acknowledges, was to shut the Bank out of the UK financial sector, and that has been its effect. Before the direction, the Bank had a substantial international business, much of it international trade finance transacted through London.

If the court of any of the countries should interfere with the obligations of one of its banks (by ordering it not to pay under a letter of credit) it would strike at the very heart of that country's international trade. No foreign seller would supply goods to that country on letters of credit—because he could no longer be confident of being paid. No trader would accept a letter of credit issued by a bank of that country if it might be ordered by its courts not to pay.

A debt is generally to be looked upon as situate in the country where it is properly recoverable or can be enforced and it is noteworthy that the sellers here submitted voluntarily to the dismissal of their earlier proceedings against the bank in North Carolina.