Glencore International AG and Anr v Bank of China (The “Cheng Jen”) - Court of Appeal - 8 November 1995

Sale of goods - Documentary credits - Whether bank entitled to reject documents on ground that signed photocopy was not “marked as original”

The first plaintiffs (“Glencore”) were the beneficiaries of two letters of credit (one for 800 metric tons (+/- 2%) and the other for 700 metric tons (+/- 2%) as sellers of a cargo of aluminium ingots. The second plaintiffs were the advising bank which negotiated the documents under the letters of credit and presented them to the Bank of China. The Bank of China rejected the documents. The plaintiffs sought a declaration that the Bank of China should not have rejected the documents.