论信用证之法律性质

The Legal Essential Element of The Letter of Credit

关于信用证之法律性质问题,各国学者形成了不同的理论观点,如合同说、特殊商行为说、自成一体的惯例制度说,等等。以上各种学说,无论哪种都无法全面、恰当地解释信用证之法律性质,如一般的合同说无法找到有效的承诺、特殊商行为说存在逻辑上的问题、自成一体的惯例制度说又显得相当笼统模糊。故文章基于对意思表示方式的认识,提出了区别于一般合同说的“新合同说”,认为信用证法律关系仍属合同性质,也存在有效的要约和承诺。

In the academia world wide, there exist several representative theories on the legal essentials of the letter of credit. Among them are the “Contract” theory, the “Special Conduct of Commerce” theory, and the “Independent Customs-system” theory. But none of these theories furnishes a thorough and precise explanation to the issue. For instance, there is the lack of valid acceptance in the first, the weakness of logics in the second, and the problem of oversimplification and ambiguity in the third. This paper proposes an alternative “New Contract” theory, which makes a different approach to the issue.