外文翻譯-信用證

1、 南京理工大學(xué)泰州科技學(xué)院畢業(yè)設(shè)計(論文)外文資料翻譯學(xué)院系： 經(jīng)濟管理學(xué)院 專 業(yè)： 國際經(jīng)濟與貿(mào)易 姓 名： 孟姣姣 學(xué) 號： 06090215 外文出處 : Omer F. Hershey. Letters Of Credit J. Harvard Law Review, 1918 (1): 1- 6 附 件：1.外文資料翻譯譯文；2.外文原文。 指導(dǎo)教師評語： 外文原文為國外原版學(xué)術(shù)期刊論文，內(nèi)容與學(xué)生畢業(yè)論文選題有較強的相關(guān)性。翻譯字?jǐn)?shù)符合規(guī)定要求，譯文較為流暢，內(nèi)容根本上忠實原意，主要內(nèi)容翻譯正確，某些句子的譯法可以改良。 簽名： 2010年 4 月 24 日附件1：外文資料翻譯譯

2、文信用證普通信用證通知，為游客所熟悉，在貿(mào)易和金融業(yè)務(wù)中從來沒有起過的重要作用。我的目的不是要直接論述這種形式的信用證，而是要討論日益嚴(yán)重的產(chǎn)生自公海貿(mào)易融資中的所謂“商業(yè)信用證的各種形式的法律上的困難。這種貿(mào)易融資方式在我們國內(nèi)業(yè)務(wù)中并沒有大量使用，而僅僅自世界大戰(zhàn)以來已經(jīng)為我國外貿(mào)所普遍使用。由于這個原因，盡管在現(xiàn)在的商業(yè)中，這些信用證擁有了極大地的數(shù)額，但它們表現(xiàn)出的形式和內(nèi)容卻非常缺乏統(tǒng)一性，而且有些在它們的實際解釋中缺乏確定性以及它們的法律范圍和意義。商業(yè)信用證，盡管在我們的企業(yè)界使用了很長時間，但是并沒有獲得任何一種種類，形式或者法律意義上的統(tǒng)一標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。它們可能僅僅是非正式意見，或者

3、有點正式的由買方借鑒某些國內(nèi)或者國外的銀行家來授權(quán)，或給銀行指示在某些條件下接受供給商的草案，或者有時他們僅僅只是要求進(jìn)行談判而達(dá)成的買賣草稿。通常在銀行確認(rèn)受信人的信發(fā)出后，商業(yè)慣例視此為“確認(rèn)信用證，那些人便擁有了保兌權(quán)，依據(jù)其條款的規(guī)定，向保兌銀行要求付款，沒有追索權(quán)。非專業(yè)人士認(rèn)為，并非沒有司法授權(quán)，似乎把這個認(rèn)為是對合同的一種保證。極為重要的是在這些信用證中附屬于單詞 “確定的和“不可撤銷，即使被說是“確認(rèn)和“不可撤銷，雖然在實踐中也是這樣認(rèn)為，但是可能在某些情況下也無法使所有的成為法律事實。這些信用證隨每個案件變化的實際情況而具體制定條件和規(guī)定，無論是在實踐中還是在我們的法院，似乎

4、還沒有解釋的非常明確或統(tǒng)一的規(guī)那么被使用。這是由于事實上在目前的戰(zhàn)爭之前我們一般的外國企業(yè)是以其他方式獲得大局部資本的。當(dāng)我們突然成了世界上極大的銷售市場，面對新的和陌生的買家，以及新業(yè)務(wù)和交流困難，我們的出口商發(fā)現(xiàn)，在許多情況下的權(quán)宜之計，要求或者是以該匯票提取現(xiàn)金或者是確認(rèn)的紐約信用證；結(jié)果，這套在這里有時多年來一直運作良好而且在熟悉的國外使用的信用證策略，很快開始廣泛使用。是否將在戰(zhàn)爭后被廣泛使用，仍有待觀察。而一般的美國出口商守舊的希望銷售獲得的是現(xiàn)金或等值的匯票，在倫敦貼現(xiàn)市場可能下降，改變國際貿(mào)易，銀行，國外商業(yè)不穩(wěn)定，新的和實驗性的市場和類似的，很有可能傾向于對這些信用證的更為廣

5、泛的應(yīng)用，并為它們在商法中取得確定的地位。但無論如何，它們在過去四年的增加使用不久必將給我們的法院帶來一系列各種令人困惑的問題。一份英國和美國關(guān)于這一問題的研究揭示了論述和解釋的很大的不確定性和含混不清。常見的信用證通知是給收信人的要約，或者通常是向世界要約，同意接受他們對要約在條款和規(guī)定上的約束。因此我們將找到提供或接受的這種理論以免使得應(yīng)考慮清楚的其他原理影響判決理由。其他決定給予這些信用證的特性和可轉(zhuǎn)讓票據(jù)的特點，從而到達(dá)沒有法律或事實的合理結(jié)論。其他人把它們當(dāng)作合同的擔(dān)?；蚪疱X持有的另一個使用，或錢生錢的合同，并收到了它們。作為它們的第三個用途和好處，被其他人視為雙方之間的合同。其他在

6、禁止的根底上準(zhǔn)許解除或者作為實體法的一局部被商人所支持的商業(yè)慣例和各方的解釋所接受。顯然，這是重要的，無論在商業(yè)和法律上，以確定是否可能作為健全的法律理論適用于這些案件。如此，不僅是為了防止由于不必要的困惑造成的混淆情況，而且是讓商業(yè)界能夠更有把握和平安的處理這種已經(jīng)設(shè)計出來的貿(mào)易和金融工具。多種的實際問題對商業(yè)界的進(jìn)口具有深遠(yuǎn)的影響，同時采用的說明和這些信用證的解釋的法律理論即將產(chǎn)生。舉例來說，和我們一直以來不得不使用的貨幣理論相比，如果我們要繼續(xù)在提供理論，可撤銷性問題上進(jìn)行研究，就必須確定不同的方式。如果這些信用證的解釋，例如，作為擔(dān)保，它們實踐的可行性受到我們法律的很大阻礙。因此，法院

7、適用的法律理論，不管它可能是什么，將不僅僅取決于這些信用證應(yīng)該使用的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)形式，而且應(yīng)該取決于這些實際的問題來最終處理，不斷出現(xiàn)，而且注定提起訴訟，可轉(zhuǎn)讓的；可撤銷的；作為銷售和交貨合同的條款解釋，信用證和銷售合同的關(guān)系，在某種程度上這樣的銷售合同，明示或者被暗示，應(yīng)該或者就是信用證的一局部；由于銷售合同未能完全執(zhí)行而導(dǎo)致的信用證未被執(zhí)行和爭議被認(rèn)為是違反了這份合同；發(fā)行人及其他各方有權(quán)在以下情況下終止付款：由于不可抗力事件，政府禁運，征用船舶等導(dǎo)致銷售合同未能執(zhí)行的情況；當(dāng)事人破產(chǎn)；持有者或者發(fā)行人企圖廢除；制定或者信用證發(fā)出的買賣雙方的變化產(chǎn)生的影響；信貸采購欺詐或者未經(jīng)授權(quán)的信用證。法律理

8、論的應(yīng)用也可能取決于解決問題的需要，現(xiàn)在似乎有所被無視的，至于銀行如何制作出色的信用證是依據(jù)會計處理或者國家銀行法的。試圖達(dá)成適用于任何法律的這些信用證的健全的理論，很自然地變成他們的最初目標(biāo)。信用證是一種舊大陸商法慣例，直到17世紀(jì)才被重新理解。當(dāng)時，通過與歐洲的貿(mào)易，該慣例才開始為我們所認(rèn)知，我們的法院結(jié)果自然，在我們的商法合并時期，在指導(dǎo)解釋大陸的書籍，并從這些書中引用出現(xiàn)在我們最早時期的信用證使用情況。這個問題在大陸有一個簡單理論上的開展，給商業(yè)思想帶來了影響，承諾在業(yè)務(wù)開展過程中所作的理論可以強制執(zhí)行。在英美法中，另一方面，伴隨曼斯菲爾德產(chǎn)生的，成為明確的習(xí)慣，一個商人的書面承諾在商

9、業(yè)交易中并沒有指出本身缺乏的法律義務(wù)，因此，大陸理論不能通過。其他方面的原因，局部經(jīng)濟，無法承當(dāng)在工商業(yè)重視，結(jié)果似乎沒有已對他們有足夠的訴訟，迫使信用證的工作做出一致的法律理論。當(dāng)戰(zhàn)爭爆發(fā)時在我們的對外貿(mào)易中所需的新的信貸產(chǎn)品，那自然就是商業(yè)信用證，有些是我們暫時不使用的，但在國外普遍使用的，通過確定其法律性質(zhì)和影響來填補這一差距應(yīng)該不需要太多的考慮。在對有關(guān)商業(yè)法的大陸論文中關(guān)于信用證的討論對我們來說最熟悉的是傳統(tǒng)的旅行信用證，針對特定的通信人，一組通信人或者大至世界在后一種情況下被稱為信用證通知，要求受信人或收件人在限期內(nèi)向持有人支付一定數(shù)額的款項或給予信貸，并同意為此對收信人負(fù)責(zé)或者為

10、此接受收件人的賬單。大陸法關(guān)于信用證的說明對于我們來說重要性是雙重的。首先，正如我剛剛所說，我們從大陸圖書和日常實踐中的到了這個想法，并且它已經(jīng)使其在他們的商法中得到了最充分的開展；其次，一直以來，由于是大陸資源的主要來源，因此在它形成時期的任何一次的商法討論中都是以類似于民法的形式被提及，并被法律認(rèn)可的。此外，在目前的聯(lián)系中，恰好歐洲大陸商法能夠提供給我們兩個卓有成效的建議：一個是，在處理商業(yè)承諾時可以依據(jù)其本身可強制執(zhí)行的觀點；另外一個是，實際處理像開信用證這種事情和作為像貨幣一樣另人信服的證據(jù)被獲得和被成認(rèn)并且被受信人持有、使用。根據(jù)法語書籍記載，信用證的成立需滿足兩個方面，取決于它是否

11、被信用證的發(fā)行者和代理銀行或者信用證的發(fā)行者和持有者同時接受。就前者而言發(fā)行者和代理銀行同時接受法國以一種授權(quán)任務(wù)的形式對待信用證。委托以古羅馬法的方式辦理意味著一項交易的處理一方同眾所周知的代理一樣將交易交給另一方，向大家都知道的代理人一樣，授權(quán)去做某事，據(jù)此代理人去完成考慮之中的事，并借以獲得報酬。附件2：外文原文復(fù)印件LETTERS OF CREDITThe ordinary circular letter of credit, familiar to tourists, has never played much part in the operations of trade and

12、finance. My aim is not to deal immediately with this form of letter but rather to discuss the legal difficulties growing out of the various forms of so-called "commercial letters of credit" used in financing over-seas trade. This method of trade financing has not been much used by us in ou

13、r domestic operations, and has come into common use in our foreign trade only since the war. On this account, in spite of the enormous volume of business in which these letters now figure, they show a great lack of uniformity in form and content, and some lack of certainty in their practical constru

14、ction and their legal scope and meaning.Commercial letters of credit, while in use for a long time in our business world, have attained no standardization either of kind, form or legal construction. They may be mere informal advices, or more or less formal authorizations from a purchaser to draw on

15、certain bankers here or abroad, or directions to given bankers to accept vendor drafts on certain conditions, or sometimes they are merely requests to negotiate the sale of such drafts. Ordinarily where a bank confirms to the addressee the issuance of a letter, commercial usage regards this as a &qu

16、ot;confirmed letter of credit," entitling those to whom it is confirmed, upon compliance with its conditions, to look to the confirming bank for payment, without recourse. The lay mind, not without Judicial authority, seems to regard this as a sort of contract of guaranty. Great importance is a

17、ttached to the use of the words "confirmed" and "irrevocable" in such letters even though what is said to be "confirmed" and "irrevocable," and is so regarded in practice, may not in some cases be so at all in legal fact.The conditions and provisions of these

18、letters vary with the exigencies of each case, and no very definite or uniform rules of construction, either in practice or in our courts, seem yet to have been attained. This is due to the fact that before the present war our general foreign business was for the most part financed in other ways. Wh

19、en we suddenly became the world's great selling market, confronted with new and strange buyers, and new business and exchange difficulties, our exporters found it expedient in many cases to demand either cash with the order or confirmed New York credits; with the result that this letter of credi

20、t device, which for many years has worked well on occasion here and which was in familiar use abroad, came quickly into extensive use. Whether it will be much used after the war remains to be seen. The provincial desire of the average American exporter to sell for cash or its equivalent with his ord

21、er, the possible decline of the London discount market, changes in international trade and banking, commercial instability abroad, new and experimental markets and the like, may well tend to a more extensive use of these letters of credit and procure for them an established place in the law merchant

22、. But in any event, their increased use during the last four years is bound presently to bring to our courts a variety of perplexing problems.A study of the English and American decisions bearing on the subject discloses much uncertainty and ambiguity of construction and interpretation. The familiar

23、 circular letter of credit is an offer addressed to given addressees, or to the world in general, agreeing to be bound by their acceptance of the offer within its terms and provisions. So we shall find this theory of offer and acceptance made the ratio decidendi in cases where other elements clearly

24、 should be considered. Other decisions give these letters the attributes and characteristics of negotiable instruments; and so reach conclusions not justified by the law or the facts. Others treat them as contracts of guaranty or of money held to the use of another, or money had and received. Others

25、 treat them as contracts between two parties for the use and benefit of a third. Others grant relief on the basis of estoppel or by upholding the customary commercial practice and interpretation of the parties as part "of the substantive law merchant. Obviously it is important, both commerciall

26、y and juristically, to determine if possible a sound legal theory applicable to these cases.This is so, not only in order to avoid confusion where confusion is unnecessary, but to enable the commercial world to deal with more confidence and safety -with this instrument of trade and finance which it

27、has devised. A variety of practical questions of far reaching import to the commerical world impend upon the legal theory applied to the construction and interpretation of these letters. For instance, if we are to proceed on the theory of offer, the question of revocability must be determined differ

28、ently than if we proceed on the theory of money had to use. If such letters are to be construed, for example, as guaranties, their practical feasibility under our law is much hampered. So that on the legal theory applied by the courts, whatever it may be, will depend not only the standard form these

29、 letters should take, but also the ultimate disposition of such practical questions, constantly arising and sure to be litigated as, assignability; revocation; construction of the terms of the contract as to sale and delivery; the relation of the letter to the contract of sale and the extent to whic

30、h such contract of sale, expressly or by implication, should be or is part of the letter; failure of complete performance of the contract of sale giving rise to the letter, and controversies as to breach of such contract;rights of issuer and other parties in case of a notice to stop payment; rights

31、in case of failure to perform the sale contract because of force majeure, government embargoes, commandeered ships, etc.; insolvency of parties; attempts at rescission by holder or issuer; effect of changes made or of dealings had between purchaser and vendor after issuance of letters; procurement o

32、f the credit by fraud or unauthorized use of the letter. And on the legal theory applied may also depend the solution of the question, now apparently somewhat ignored, as to how a bank's outstanding letters of credit are to be treated in its accounting or under the national banking law.In trying

33、 to arrive at any sound theory of law applicable to these letters, one naturally turns first to their place of origin. The letter of credit is an old institution of continental commercial law, well understood as far back as the seventeenth century. When, through trade with Europe, the institution be

34、came known to us, our courts turned naturally, in our period of absorption of the law merchant, to the continental books for guidance in construing it and copious citations from these books appear in our earliest letter of credit cases. The subject had a simple theoretical development on the contine

35、nt which gave effect to the mercantile idea that a promise made in course of business is enforceable. In Anglo-American law, on the other hand, in the generation following Lord Mansfield, it became definitely settled that a merchant's promise in writing made in a business transaction did not suf

36、fice of itself to create legal obligation, hence the continental theory could not be adopted. Other reasons, partly economic, prevented letters of credit from assuming much importance in our commerce and as result there does not seem to have been sufficient litigation over them to compel the working

37、 out of a consistent legal theory. When the outbreak of the war required new credit devices in our foreign trade, it was natural that the commercial letter of credit, somewhat dormant with us, but in common use abroad, should be employed to fill the gap without much consideration being given to its

38、legal character and implications.The letter of credit discussed in the continental treatises on commercial law is of the sort most familiar to us as the conventional traveler's letter, addressed to a particular correspondent, a group of correspondents or to the world at large (in the latter case

39、 called a circular letter of credit),requesting the addressee or addressees to pay money or give credit to the holder up to a certain amount within .a time limited and agreeing to become responsible therefor to the addressee or to accept the addressee's bill therefor.The importance to us of continental law as to letters of credit is twofold. In the first place, as has been sai