1. A documentary credit is a contract under which, at the request of its customer (the applicant), the bank opens credit up to a specified amount and for a specified period in favour of another person (the beneficiary), against documents representing goods shipped or prepared for shipment. 2. The documentary-credit contract is independent of the contract for which it was opened, and the bank remains a stranger to that contract.
Interpretation and application must be checked against the official text and current version.