制裁條款與信用證規則的衝突與協調：基於摩根大通案的分析

Conflict and Coordination between Sanction Clause and Letter of Credit Rules: An Analysis Based on the JP Morgan Case

當事人約定遵守相關國家的單邊制裁規範，日益成為涉外商事合同條款常見的安排。但在信用證交易領域，因其特有的商業基礎和法律邏輯使得銀行在信用證中訂入作為可能止付條件的制裁條款存在非常獨特的理論矛盾與實踐困境。近期新加坡法院的一則裁判案例則表明，此類制裁條款因賦予了銀行過大的自由裁量權，與信用證的不可撒銷性、獨立性、相符交單等基礎規則產生衝突，將削弱信用證交易固有的確定性和可預測性。新加坡上訴法院出於對當事人商業活動的尊重，並沒有輕易地否認制裁條款的效力，而是通過“嚴格解釋路徑”對制裁條款下雙方的權利義務進行調整以期平衡，但這種個案解決方式難以從制度層面化解制裁條款“過度合規”對信用證交易帶來的系統性危機。還需要通過國際商會的合規指引等多邊路徑完善制裁條款的磋商、訂立、通知及止付後賠償等實體與程序內容，實現“制裁合規”與“信用證交易可預測”的協調共存。

The increasing prevalence of unilateral sanctions regimes in international trade has led to a growing trend of parties incorporating sanction compliance provisions into their cross-border commercial contracts. However, the unique commercial underpinnings and legal logic of letter of credit (LC) transactions introduce a complex interplay between sanction clauses and the fundamental principles of LC rules. This tension was recently brought to the forefront in a landmark Singapore Court of Appeal case, which highlighted the inherent contradictions and practical dilemmas arising from the incorporation of sanction clauses into LCs. The court recognized that sanction clauses, by granting banks excessive discretion to halt payments under LCs based on their ot.vn assessment of potential sanctions violations, pose a significant threat to the core principles of LC—their irrevocability, independence, and strict conformity to presented documents. Although the Court balanced the rights and obligations of both parties through a ''strict interpretation'', this approach, however, falls short of addressing the systemic risks posed by ''overly compliant'' sanction clauses to the integrity of LC. By a more comprehensive solution lies in a multi-pronged approach that involves the negotiation, formulation, notification, and post payment compensation of sanctions trough multilateral channels, the international trade community can achieve a more harmonious coexistence between sanctions compliance and the predictability of LC transactions.