The letter of credit is the most important payment term in the international trade and playing more and more important part in our foreign trade. However, because the bank just concerns the identity of the documents on the face not the actual goods, lawbreaking merchants use the independent character of the L/C to defraud. Fraud exception principle comes into being in the circumstances. And the application of the fraud exception principle is to be restricted to a certain degree, otherwise, the mechanism of the L/C may be corroded and the legal rights of the bona fide third party may be ignored, therefore, it is necessary to introduce the exemption of the fraud exception principle.
The first part summarizes of the L/C, mainly introduces the definition, the characteristics and the significance of the L/C; the second part mainly discusses the L/C fraud due to the characteristics of the L/C, including the idea and the reason of the L/C fraud; the third part emphasizes on the fraud exception, mainly expounds the reason of drawing into the fraud exception, the terms of applying to the fraud exception and the specific examples in order to introduce the fraud exception further; the last part dwells on the exemption of the fraud exception, mainly discusses the reason and condition of applying to the exemption of the fraud exception.
【Key Words】The Independent Character of the L/C; L/C Fraud; Fraud Exception; Exemption of the Fraud Exception