‘Docs, or It Didn’t Happen’: Examining Misconceptions around Non-Documentary Conditions

There is an internet expression popular with the social media-savvy Generation Z: “Pics, or it didn’t happen”. In this age of the ubiquitous smart-phone camera, virtually every assertion that something occurred – however mundane or outlandish – is instantly met with a request for picture evidence, otherwise it will be dismissed and disregarded.

There are parallels between the “Pics, or it didn’t happen” mantra and, of all unlikely things, the general approach of the UCP600, URDG758, and ISP98 (the ICC Rules) to non-documentary conditions in documentary instruments. Just as the norm is to insist on picture evidence being posted for a social media boast to get online validation, the general position is to require presentation of a compliant document in order for any condition set out in a documentary instrument to be fulfilled. Under the ICC Rules, any condition in a documentary credit, demand guarantee or standby letter of credit, that “does not stipulate a required document evidencing compliance with that condition”[[1]] is effectively deemed as not stated and is disregarded[[2]] (for the purposes of this article, the General Rule against NDCs).