This is the 6th edition of ICC's Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, 1993 Revision, UCP 500, which came into force on January 1, 1994.

The 49 articles of UCP 500 are a comprehensive and practical working aid to bankers, lawyers, importers, and exporters, transport executives, educators, and everyone involved in letter of credit transactions worldwide. For ease of reference, UCP 500 keeps the same framework of the past revisions of the UCP.

UCP 500

• Simplifies the rules
• Ensures that they are consistent with current market practice
• Enhances the integrity and reliability of the documentary promise
• Introduces the presumption of irrevocability
• Clarifies the primary liability of the issuing bank and the confirming bank Introduces a course of action to be taken on "non-documentary conditions"
• Clearly lists the elements of acceptability for each major type of transport document

The latest edition, UCP 600, came into effect on 1 July 2007.