The letter of credit continues to play an indispensable role in the financing and securing of international commercial transactions. Its usefulness and efficacy derives primarily from the fact that it is independent from the underlying relationship between buyer and seller. In a considerable number of cases, however, the independence of the letter of credit has been challenged as a result of fraud in the underlying transaction. After analyzing recent reforms of the regulatory framework governing letters of credit, this fraud exception to the independence principle will be reappraised in the light of current developments in Canada and the United States. Finally, the author argues that arbitration can and indeed should play an increasingly important role in the resolution of international letter of credit disputes involving fraud in the transaction.

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