Unconscionable Conduct in Commercial Transactions: Global Perspectives and Applications
This book looks at the historical use of allegations of unconscionable conduct within the context of independent trade finance instruments, such as letters of credit and demand guarantees. It makes a detailed survey of the law of unconscionable conduct, the complexities of the doctrine of independence, and the circumstances where the former prevails to provide relief from abuse.
It also completes a wide–ranging, sequential audit of the relevant case law in both Singapore and Australia where unconscionable conduct was alleged in independent instrument matters. The audit examines every case along the lines of precedent and details the contribution each makes to the law.
Focussing on the jurisdictions of Singapore, Australia, and Malaysia, the book lays out the case for the broad adoption of unconscionable conduct in this domain. With its premises founded in precedent and statute, it describes the elements of independent instrument unconscionability as already laid down in law and links it to international banking practice.
Dr Garth Wooler is Senior Lecturer in Business Law at AFG College, University of Aberdeen, Doha Campus. He holds five degrees across three disciplines from three Australian universities, including a Doctorate in Law from the University of Queensland. He also holds a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice and a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, and is admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland as a legal practitioner. His doctoral work focused on the effect of unconscionable conduct on the independence of certain trade finance instruments. In 2016, Dr Wooler published an article in the Singapore Journal of Legal Studies which coined the now widely–accepted term “Asplenium Clause” and won a prestigious writing award. For ten years prior to 2017, Dr Wooler was involved with the tertiary education sector. He has lectured and tutored at universities in Australia and China, and has taught commercial and trade finance law, corporations law, economics, and computer accounting, among many other subjects.
“The backbone of Performance Bonds and Standby Guarantees is the Independence Principle, which dictates that the Issuer honour a demand for payment and not be concerned with, nor bound by, any underlying contractual issue. Australia and Singapore have progressed the law relating to the impact of abusive demands and unconscionable conduct by both parties on these instruments, judicially piercing the veil of independence. Garth Wooler makes an impressively scrupulous and perceptive investigation into the emerging ‘unconscionability exception’ to the principle, insightfully adding to the existing literature with astute analysis and a thorough review of the relevant case law and statute.”
Dr Alan Davidson
Senior Lecturer, TC Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland, Australia
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