Rights and Duties in a Letter of Credit Transaction

Rights and Duties in a Letter of Credit Transaction Introduction The letter of credit is the most commonly used method of payment for goods in international trade. This thesis highlights the imbalance of the rights and duties of the parties in a letter of credit transaction by emphasising deficiencies in the letters of credit system. In addition, on those areas where there is lack of justice and equity and which make the system of the letters of credit vulnerable for fraudulent activities. This thesis is structured in five chapters. First chapter after briefly discussing the structure of the letter of credit system, such as parties to the letter of credit transaction, kinds of letters of credit, step by step procedure of the transaction, different type of the documents used and the common defects in those documents, it also explains about the division of the risk under such a transaction and how the applicant’s risk has increased under UCP and very often the buyer is paying for the goods he had not contracted for. Second chapter after brief discussion of the drafting and interpretation of the UCP, explains about the reluctance of the courts to intervene in order to balance the rights and duties of the parties in a letter of credit transaction, status of the UCP, scope of the banks duties and in addition the disclaimer clauses under UCP. Chapter three explores the autonomy of the letters of credit, the doctrine of strict compliance and the ways in which the courts deal with documentary compliance. It further considers that overprotection of the â€Å"independence principle†, and the lack of â€Å"reasonable care† on the part of banks provides opportunities of fraud to the sellers to obtain payment without actually performing their duties to banks and buyers. Chapter four explains â€Å"fraud exception† to the autonomy principle in detail, the position of the fraud exception in England and the history of the English cases relating to the fraud. In addition it also examines the reasons for such an enormous increase in the number of cases relating to fraud. Finally, chapter five considers some of those methods, which can be used to avoid such an increase in fraud cases and also provides few suggestions to balance the rights and duties amongst all the parties to the letter of credit transaction. Chapter 1 Structure of a Letter of Credit Transaction Commercial letters of credit have been used for the centuries as a most common method of payment, in international trade. Letters of credit used in international transactions are governed by the International Chamber of Commerce Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP). A commercial letter of credit is a contractual agreement between a bank (issuing bank), on behalf of one of its customers (buyer), authorizing another bank (advising or confirming bank), to make payment to the beneficiary (seller). The issuing bank, on the application of its customer (buyer), opens the letter of credit, and makes a commitment with the buyer to honour the credit, if the documents presented by the beneficiary are conforming to the terms and conditions of the credit. Thus, the issuing replaces the customer to make payment to the seller. Elements of a Letter of Credit An undertaking given by issuing bank to make payment Issuing bank gives undertaking on behalf of a applicant To pay a given amount of money to the seller On presentation of required documents under the letter of credit Within a specified time as provided by the letter of credit Documents must be in compliance to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit Documents must be presented at a specified place provided by the letter of credit Beneficiary Beneficiary is normally the provider of the goods or services and is entitled to payment as long as he can provide the conforming documents required by the letter of credit. The letter of credit is a distinct and separate transaction from the underlying contract (contract between seller and buyer). All parties deal in documents and not in goods. The issuing bank is not liable for the performance of the underlying contract between the buyer and seller. The issuing banks obligation to the buyer-applicant is to examine all documents to insure that they are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the credit. To get the payment it is for the beneficiary to provide all the required documents. If the seller-beneficiary conforms to the letter of credit, the seller must be paid by the bank. Issuing Bank Letters of credit only concerns with the documents, not with the goods, therefore the duty of issuing bank to pay to the beneficiary and than to be reimbursed from its customer will only be completed upon the completion of the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. Under the provisions of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, the bank is entitled to have a reasonable time after receipt of the documents from the beneficiary, to examine the documents and then to make the payment. The issuing bank provides a guarantee to the seller that if the documents presented by the beneficiary are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the credit, then the bank will make the payment to the seller. Generally the documents presented include a commercial invoice, bill of lading or airway bill and an insurance document etc. Advising Bank An advising bank is usually a foreign correspondent bank of the issuing bank which advises the seller-beneficiary. Generally, the beneficiary wants to use a local bank to insure that the letter of credit is valid. In addition, the advising bank is responsible for sending the documents to the issuing bank. The advising bank has no other obligation under the letter of credit. Therefore, if the issuing bank does not pay the beneficiary, the advising bank is not obligated to pay. Confirming Bank At the request of the issuing bank, the correspondent bank may confirm the letter of credit for the seller-beneficiary and obligates itself to insure payment under the letter of credit. The confirming bank is usually the advising bank. There are two main types of Letters of credit: (1) Revocable (2) Irrevocable Revocable Letter of Credit Revocable letter of credit is not a commonly used type of the letters of credit. This type of letter of credit can be revoked by the issuing bank at any time, without notification to the beneficiary, for any reason. Such type of letter of credit can not be confirmed by the correspondent bank and the bank will act as an advising bank only. A revocable letter of credit can not be revoked after the presentation of the documents, if the documents are conforming to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit and the payment has been made. Irrevocable Letter of Credit Use of irrevocable letters of credit is very common in international trade. Irrevocable letter of credit can not be revoked or changed without the consent of the beneficiary. Issuing bank will make the payment to the seller, if the seller presents the documents complying with the terms of the credit, as agreed between seller and buyer. Such a letter of credit can only be changed with the permission of both buyer and seller. If it is not clear from the letter of credit that whether it is revocable or irrevocable, it automatically considers as irrevocable. Irrevocable letters of credit are of two kinds: Unconfirmed credit In case of unconfirmed letter of credit, advising bank does not confirm the credit to the seller and the issuing bank is the only party responsible for payment to the beneficiary. Advising bank will only pay to the seller after getting payment from the issuing bank and there is no risk for the advising bank. Confirmed credit In this type of credit, advising bank confirms credit to the seller. When the advising bank confirms that the documents presented are conforming to the terms of the credit, it will make the payment to the seller, and after that advising bank will contact with the issuing bank to get the payment. This type of letter of credit is commonly used, when the seller is unfamiliar with the issuing bank. Such a type of letter of credit is quite expensive because the banks have some liability. Step-by-step process In international trade as the buyer and seller are in different countries so when the buyer and the seller of the goods agree to conduct business, than because of the gap of time between delivery of goods and the payment, usually the seller wants a letter of credit as a guarantee of payment from the buyer. Than the buyer makes a request to his bank called the issuing to open a credit in the favour of the seller. at the request of the buyer, issuing bank issues a letter of credit in favour of the seller and forwards it to the corresponding bank called the advising or conforming bank., which is usually located in the seller’s country. Advising bank than either confirms the credit or not, depending upon the type of credit, and forward it to the seller. Seller than ships the goods and collects the documents required in order to meet the requirements of the letter of credit and finally to get the payment in time. Seller presents the required documents to the advising or confirming bank in order to get the payment in time. Advising or confirming bank examines the documents presented by the seller to check that whether they are conforming to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. If the documents are in compliance, advising or confirming bank, in case of confirmed letter of credit, will make payment to the seller and will be reimbursed from the issuing bank and in case of unconfirmed letter of credit, advising or confirming bank will forward the documents to the issuing bank. Than the Issuing bank will, after examine of the documents, debit the buyers account if the documents are in compliance to the terms of the letter of credit. In the end, Issuing bank forwards the documents to the buyer. Most commonly used documents in a letter of credit transaction include: Commercial Invoice This includes description of the goods, their price, FOB origin, and name and address of the buyer and the seller. The buyer and seller information must be in compliance with the description provided in the letter of credit. Bill of Lading It is a document which shows the receipt of goods for shipment by a freight carrier. It is an evidence of the control of the goods and also acts as an evidence of the carriers obligation to transport the goods to their proper destination. Warranty of Title A warranty given by a seller to a buyer of goods that states that the title being conveyed is good. It is generally issued to the purchaser. Letter of Indemnity It is a letter specifically indemnifies the purchaser against a certain stated circumstance. Indemnification is generally used to guarantee that shipping documents will be provided in good order when available. Common Defects in the documents presented A discrepancy is some defect in the documents presented by the seller, which show their non-compliance with the terms of the letter of credit. Issuing bank can not change the terms and conditions of the letter of credit with out t he permission of the buyer. Therefore to avoid any delay in getting payment. Beneficiary should be careful in preparing the required documents. Common defects in the documents presented by the seller include: If the description of the goods is not consistent. There is some error in the insurance documents. If the draft amount is not equal to invoice amount. Loading and destination ports are not same as provided by the letter of credit. Merchandise description is not same as in the credit. If any of the documents required by the credit is not presented. Documents are generally inconsistent such as quality, etc. If the names of the documents required are not correct, as mentioned in the credit. Invoice is not signed as provided in the letter of credit. If prior to the presentation of the draft, Letter of Credit has expired. If the date mention in the bill of lading is different from the date stated in the credit. If there are some changes in the invoice which are not authorized by the letter of credit. In international sales, as the seller and the buyer are in different countries, there is a common problem of payment due to the difference of time between dispatch and delivery. Obviously, seller would like to receive payment for the goods when delivering them to the carrier and the buyer would prefer to delay the payment of the price until receipt of the goods. Therefore, a letter of credit solves this problem between the seller and the buyer. Generally, there are three separate transactions in a letter of credit transaction. The first is between a seller and a buyer, called an underlying transaction, by which the seller provides contracted goods to the buyer. The second transaction is between the buyer-applicant and the bank (issuer of the letter of credit), in which the bank issues a letter of credit to the seller-beneficiary. Finally, the letter of credit itself creates a relationship between the issuer and the beneficiary, in which, the issuer makes payment for goods upon the beneficiary’s presentation of the required documents, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the letter of credit as agreed between seller and buyer. The bank’s performance of payment is conditional on the delivery of conforming documents by the beneficiary. The banks are called issuers and are usually the applicant’s bank. Normally the issuing bank opens a letter of credit in its own name and requests its correspondent bank to notify the seller about the letter of credit. Sometimes, the issuing bank asks the correspondent bank not only to inform the seller of the issuing bank’s undertaking but also to add a confirmation. In this case, the credit is known as a confirmed credit and the correspondent bank as a confirming bank. The payment obligation of the issuing bank depends upon the beneficiary’s presentation of complying documents to the confirming bank or to any other nominated bank, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the credit. Under general practice, presenting â€Å"complying documents† means that they comply with the conditions of the credit â€Å"on their face†. From banking point of view, compliance â€Å"on their face† of the presented documents is sufficient. The â€Å"independence principle† (which will be discussed later) is the fundamental principle of the letter of credit system, which prohibits banks from looking beyond facial compliance of the documents, and therefore exclude whether or not there is actual performance by the seller-beneficiary. In fact, letters of credit system has emphasised the independence principle to such an extent that banks are ignoring the performance of the underlying contract very confidently. As a result, all the risk is on the honest buyers, who are sometime paying for goods that they had not contracted for. Importance of the research The primary purpose of the letter of credit system is to facilitate international trade, rather than to provide an opportunity to the banks to make profit. As the fraud is very common in these days, but UCP is not designed to prevent fraud. The number of frauds relating to the letters of credit has increased over the years. Buyers are particularly vulnerable to such practices under the letter of credit system. This situation shows that there is some ambiguity in the letter of credit system and a lack of balance between the rights and duties of the parties to a letter of credit transaction, which is being exploited very easily by fraudsters. Division of risk under a Letter of Credit Transaction As we have discussed above, a letter of credit transaction consists of three linked but independent contracts. The first step is that the buyer makes a contract with the seller for the sale of goods, called the underlying contract. Subsequently the buyer signs an application form requesting the bank to open a credit, which is an arrangement between the buyer and the bank. The third step is that the issuing bank informs the seller, who is the beneficiary of the letter of credit, of the credit and promises to pay against the stipulated documents provided the terms and conditions of the credit are met. The letter of credit allocates risk between the applicant and the beneficiary. By postulating a letter of credit, the beneficiary may greatly reduce the risk of not being paid and ultimately allowing the beneficiary of the letter to reallocate the risk of non-payment for delivered goods which do not conform to the underlying sale contract. Generally, banks are reluctant to dishonour a credit, since to do so may damage the bank’s reputation as a credit issuer. The cost of honour, however, falls on the honest applicant, not the bank. â€Å"If the beneficiary has breached the underlying transaction, payment under the credit to him will occasion loss, but that loss will not be the bank’s; it will be the applicant’s.† Increase in the applicant’s risk and decrease in the bank’s risk under UCP UCP is the governing law of the letters of credit, therefore there should be a balance regarding the rights and duties of the parties, but UCP contains rules that reduce bank risk. There is no provision asking for judicial intervention to compensate letter of credit parties in case of bank’s negligence. The provisions in favour of banks fall into two categories. The first provides sweeping immunity from liabilities that national legal systems may impose. Example of such a disclaimer is Article 15. Under Article 15, banks assume no liability for the genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any documents and therefore the issuer is immune from the liability for paying against forged documents, which on their face appear regular. Therefore, the payment by the issuing bank does not show that the buyer has received the goods, which he had contracted for. The security, which the beneficiary is getting under the letter of credit system is not the same with the security of the buyer. The second category of pro-bank provisions contains rules that set precise boundaries on what the banks must do, which reduces uncertainty about bank responsibility and provides clear guidance to bank employees. For example, the customer cannot stipulate non-documentary conditions of payment, and time limits on examination of documents are fixed rather than open-ended. In case of any loss, the buyer, which is the applicant for a credit, can take action against the seller for breach of contract or fraud, but has no right of action against the bank for bank’s negligence in examining the documents, which can be ineffectual for several reasons, such as insolvency of either the applicant or the beneficiary. Hence the burden of risk on the applicant is more than any party in a letter of credit transaction and in most of the cases, buyers are paying for the goods, they have not contracted for. Chapter 2 UCP and letters of credit Originally UCP has been drafted by the Banking Commission of the ICC, which was comprised of the representatives of the banking community, which shows the dominance of the banks and banking experts. Their dominance in UCP drafting, hints that in drafting UCP, ICC was acting as a private legislature. It looks that the rules contain in the UCP are much beneficial for the banks than any other party, and giving a limited chance to the judiciaries to interfere to protect customers from any careless behaviour of the banks. The authority to interpret the UCP rests in the ICC Commission on Banking Technique and Practice, which can apply these interpretations to solve the problems arising in any case. Because of wide publicity and distribution of commission’s answers, their interpretation can be considered as an official interpretation of the UCP. Commission can enhance, interpreting, and sometimes amend the provisions of the UCP. The banks which deal with the letters of credit, act upon these interpretations and any amendments. As in theory, commission is only answerable to ICC members, therefore the chances of any challenge to such interpretation is very low. Role of courts in balancing the rights and duties of the parties In Discount Records Ltd. v. Barclay Bank Ltd., the judge was reluctant to â€Å"interfere with bankers’ irrevocable credit and not least in the sphere of international banking†. The position is same in many other cases. The apparent reason for the reluctance of the judges to interfere looks that they are afraid from the threats of the banking experts that their decisions would have an unfavourable affect on international trade. The difficulties of the courts to balance the rights and duties of all parties to a letter of credit transaction have increased. In Mannesman Handel AG v. Kaunlaran Shipping Corporation, the Swiss bank argued that the bank was in rejecting the documents by the German company relying on the independence principle and the discrepancies appeared on the documents. The court was asked not to apply the good faith principle otherwise the court â€Å"would be calculated to undermine if not destroy the doctrine of strict compliance and to blur if not extinguish the distinction between transactions concerning goods and transactions concerning documents.† Normally the judicial decisions relating to the legal aspects of documentary credits base on either the express intentions of the parties or established business practice at the time, the parties entered in a contractual relationship. In cases where the UCP provisions are different from business practice, a court will apply the UCP if the UCP is incorporated in the contract of the parties. It shows that courts have assented to the entire documentary credit system being run by the banking industry and eventually abstaining the courts to intervene to balance the legal rights and duties amongst all the parties. Should the UCP have the status of law? Leading scholar Professor Ross Buckley says: â€Å"originally, the UCP was neither designed nor intended to be law. It was prepared as a set of standard terms to be incorporated by reference into letters of credit by those parties who chose to do so.† This has also been confirmed by the UCP in the preface of UCP 500, which states that the UCP is not legislation but a compilation of rules made by bankers for their own industry. Therefore there is a dispute as to whether the UCP is a code of the law, or just customary practices, or some mutually consented regulations relating to letters of credit. However in fact, UCP is the governing law of the letters of credit. The Scope of the Banks Duties Before analysing the wording of the disclaimers used, the scope of the duties undertaken by the banks involved must be identified. Whereas the type of credit and the documentary stipulations therein will usually have been negotiated by the commercial parties and included in their sales contract, the terms and conditions under which a bank undertakes to open a documentary credit will normally appear in the banks standard application form which the importer will be required to complete. Although the application would normally refer to the UCP, it is important to note that the provisions of the UCP would not automatically apply in English law if not expressly incorporated by the parties to the credit and, even if expressly incorporated, its provisions can be excluded, or modified by the express terms of the credit. The duty to issue an efficacious credit The importers failure to procure the issue of a documentary credit which conforms to the terms of the sales contract may be treated by the exporter as a breach of a condition precedent to his performance and a repudiation of the contract by the importer. Whether the applicant can sue the issuing bank in respect of its culpable failure to issue (or to issue in good time) a conforming and efficacious credit is, however, by no means clear. The duty to issue a conforming credit An initial problem arises where the applicant requires the issue of a confirmed credit, that is, a credit in which a second bank, normally in the beneficiarys country, adds its own independent undertaking, to pay against the stipulated documents, to that of the issuing bank. Is the issuing bank in breach of contract towards the applicant if it is unable to procure the confirmation? The answer must depend upon the issuers conduct on receiving the application from the applicant. The second aspect of the duty to issue a conforming credit raises the question of liability for the acts of other banks involved in the transaction. Clearly, if the issuing bank opens a credit which specifies documentation other than that called for by the applicant, then in the absence of a disclaimer it will be in breach of its contract with the applicant under the doctrine of strict compliance. The position should be the same where the issuing bank unreasonably delays issue of the credit so that the beneficiary incurs loss. A difficulty arises, however, when it is not the issuing bank itself which causes the error or delay in complying with the applicants instructions, but the issuers correspondent bank. The doctrine of privity of contract would appear to prevent contractual liability arising in this context. However, in any event, it appears that there is no reason for holding that, in the absence of a disclaimer; an issuing bank should not be liable for the consequences of errors by its correspondents. Duty to receive and examine documents The doctrine of strict compliance means that issuing banks which pay against non-conforming documents are in breach of their contractual obligations to the applicant. The issuer is not, however, a guarantor of the documents conformity; its duty is discharged by the exercise of reasonable care to ascertain that the documents comply on their face with the terms of the credit. Duty to make payment under the terms of the credit The party with the primary interest in enforcing the banks obligation to pay against conforming documents is the beneficiary although it is clear that this obligation is also owed to the applicant. Furthermore, any variation of the payment terms would be a clear breach of contract. Duties of correspondent banks In so far as the confirming bank gives an undertaking in exactly the same terms as the issuing bank, it clearly owes precisely the same duties to the beneficiary. However, since a confirming bank looks to the issuing bank alone for reimbursement, it may be prima facie unlikely that it owes any duty to the applicant, even where the applicant is paying the confirmation fee. There are, however, some judicial dicta which might support the recognition of such a duty. Bank’s risk under UCP (exemption clauses) Article 15 and 18 (b) of the UCP 500, limits the liability of the banks in a letter of credit transaction and which have almost made it a risk free transaction for the banks. Article 15 says: â€Å"Banks assume no liability to or responsibility for the form, sufficiency, accuracy, genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any document(s) or for the general and/or particular conditions stipulated in the document(s) or superimposed thereon, nor do they assume any liability or responsibility for the description, quantity, weight, quality, condition, packing, delivery, value or existence of the goods represented by any document(s) or for the good-faith or acts and/or omissions, solvency, performance or standing of the consignors, the carriers, the forwarders, the consignee or the insurers of the goods or any other person whomsoever.† Article 18(b) further states: â€Å"Banks assume no liability or responsibility should the instructions they submit not be carried out, even if they have themselves taken the initiative in the choice of such other bank(s).† The UCP 500 places the applicant-buyer in an absurdly vulnerable position through its disclaimer clauses. To some extent there is a lack of duties on the part of the bank to verify the authenticity of the documents. Hence it might not be wrong to say that albeit there is a waste increase in the use of letters of credit, does not signify that the UCP is fairly drafted. Letters of credit and its users It is also very important that whether all the parties to the letter of credit, particularly applicant-buyer are conscious about the presence of these exemptions, e.g. by providing a copy of these exemption clauses of the UCP or by giving a notice of these exemption clauses. It is a rule that to enforce an exemption clause, a reasonable notice should be given to the other party but in practice, buyers are assume to have the notice of the UCP and that they are familiar with the provisions of the UCP. Further, the application for the issuance of a letter of credit and the letter of credit document itself only contain a simple sentence: â€Å"Subject to UCP for Documentary Credits†, without any attachment of the provisions of the UCP or any notice of such exemption clauses. Hence it is debatable that why the courts do not look, while dealing with the cases relating to the letters of credit, that whether a reasonable notice has been given relating to the exemption clauses and do not interfere to balance the rights and duties of the parties to a letter of credit transaction? Chapter 3 Doctrine of strict compliance and independence principle It is a basic rule of the letter of the credit transaction and which is widely recognised that the letters of credit are transactions independent of the underlying contracts on which they are based. According to this principle, the issuer has no concern with the underlying contracts between buyer and seller. Its concern is with documents only, rather than the goods or any type of services. Obviously there are some doubts about this principle, i.e. to what extent this principle should be applied. Which some tome may cause injustice to the applicant under certain circumstances. Independence Principle Generally, letter of credit is a contract between the issuer and the seller of the goods, which is independent of the underlying contract between the seller and the buyer. The independence principle is mentioned in Article 3 and Article 4 of the UCP. Article 3 states: â€Å"Credits, by their nature, are separated transactions from the sales or other contract(s), even if any reference whatsoever to such contract(s) is included in the Credit.† Article 4 further says: â€Å"In credit operations all parties concerned deal with documents and not with goods, services and/or other performances to which the documents may relate.† From the very beginning independence principle governs letter of credit transactions and very clearly states that the credits are completely separate from their underlying transactions and the issuer makes payment depending on the conformity of the documents presented according to the terms and conditions of the credit without considering the performance of the underlying contract by the beneficiary. Rights and Duties in a Letter of Credit Transaction Rights and Duties in a Letter of Credit Transaction Introduction The letter of credit is the most commonly used method of payment for goods in international trade. This thesis highlights the imbalance of the rights and duties of the parties in a letter of credit transaction by emphasising deficiencies in the letters of credit system. In addition, on those areas where there is lack of justice and equity and which make the system of the letters of credit vulnerable for fraudulent activities. This thesis is structured in five chapters. First chapter after briefly discussing the structure of the letter of credit system, such as parties to the letter of credit transaction, kinds of letters of credit, step by step procedure of the transaction, different type of the documents used and the common defects in those documents, it also explains about the division of the risk under such a transaction and how the applicant’s risk has increased under UCP and very often the buyer is paying for the goods he had not contracted for. Second chapter after brief discussion of the drafting and interpretation of the UCP, explains about the reluctance of the courts to intervene in order to balance the rights and duties of the parties in a letter of credit transaction, status of the UCP, scope of the banks duties and in addition the disclaimer clauses under UCP. Chapter three explores the autonomy of the letters of credit, the doctrine of strict compliance and the ways in which the courts deal with documentary compliance. It further considers that overprotection of the â€Å"independence principle†, and the lack of â€Å"reasonable care† on the part of banks provides opportunities of fraud to the sellers to obtain payment without actually performing their duties to banks and buyers. Chapter four explains â€Å"fraud exception† to the autonomy principle in detail, the position of the fraud exception in England and the history of the English cases relating to the fraud. In addition it also examines the reasons for such an enormous increase in the number of cases relating to fraud. Finally, chapter five considers some of those methods, which can be used to avoid such an increase in fraud cases and also provides few suggestions to balance the rights and duties amongst all the parties to the letter of credit transaction. Chapter 1 Structure of a Letter of Credit Transaction Commercial letters of credit have been used for the centuries as a most common method of payment, in international trade. Letters of credit used in international transactions are governed by the International Chamber of Commerce Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP). A commercial letter of credit is a contractual agreement between a bank (issuing bank), on behalf of one of its customers (buyer), authorizing another bank (advising or confirming bank), to make payment to the beneficiary (seller). The issuing bank, on the application of its customer (buyer), opens the letter of credit, and makes a commitment with the buyer to honour the credit, if the documents presented by the beneficiary are conforming to the terms and conditions of the credit. Thus, the issuing replaces the customer to make payment to the seller. Elements of a Letter of Credit An undertaking given by issuing bank to make payment Issuing bank gives undertaking on behalf of a applicant To pay a given amount of money to the seller On presentation of required documents under the letter of credit Within a specified time as provided by the letter of credit Documents must be in compliance to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit Documents must be presented at a specified place provided by the letter of credit Beneficiary Beneficiary is normally the provider of the goods or services and is entitled to payment as long as he can provide the conforming documents required by the letter of credit. The letter of credit is a distinct and separate transaction from the underlying contract (contract between seller and buyer). All parties deal in documents and not in goods. The issuing bank is not liable for the performance of the underlying contract between the buyer and seller. The issuing banks obligation to the buyer-applicant is to examine all documents to insure that they are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the credit. To get the payment it is for the beneficiary to provide all the required documents. If the seller-beneficiary conforms to the letter of credit, the seller must be paid by the bank. Issuing Bank Letters of credit only concerns with the documents, not with the goods, therefore the duty of issuing bank to pay to the beneficiary and than to be reimbursed from its customer will only be completed upon the completion of the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. Under the provisions of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, the bank is entitled to have a reasonable time after receipt of the documents from the beneficiary, to examine the documents and then to make the payment. The issuing bank provides a guarantee to the seller that if the documents presented by the beneficiary are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the credit, then the bank will make the payment to the seller. Generally the documents presented include a commercial invoice, bill of lading or airway bill and an insurance document etc. Advising Bank An advising bank is usually a foreign correspondent bank of the issuing bank which advises the seller-beneficiary. Generally, the beneficiary wants to use a local bank to insure that the letter of credit is valid. In addition, the advising bank is responsible for sending the documents to the issuing bank. The advising bank has no other obligation under the letter of credit. Therefore, if the issuing bank does not pay the beneficiary, the advising bank is not obligated to pay. Confirming Bank At the request of the issuing bank, the correspondent bank may confirm the letter of credit for the seller-beneficiary and obligates itself to insure payment under the letter of credit. The confirming bank is usually the advising bank. There are two main types of Letters of credit: (1) Revocable (2) Irrevocable Revocable Letter of Credit Revocable letter of credit is not a commonly used type of the letters of credit. This type of letter of credit can be revoked by the issuing bank at any time, without notification to the beneficiary, for any reason. Such type of letter of credit can not be confirmed by the correspondent bank and the bank will act as an advising bank only. A revocable letter of credit can not be revoked after the presentation of the documents, if the documents are conforming to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit and the payment has been made. Irrevocable Letter of Credit Use of irrevocable letters of credit is very common in international trade. Irrevocable letter of credit can not be revoked or changed without the consent of the beneficiary. Issuing bank will make the payment to the seller, if the seller presents the documents complying with the terms of the credit, as agreed between seller and buyer. Such a letter of credit can only be changed with the permission of both buyer and seller. If it is not clear from the letter of credit that whether it is revocable or irrevocable, it automatically considers as irrevocable. Irrevocable letters of credit are of two kinds: Unconfirmed credit In case of unconfirmed letter of credit, advising bank does not confirm the credit to the seller and the issuing bank is the only party responsible for payment to the beneficiary. Advising bank will only pay to the seller after getting payment from the issuing bank and there is no risk for the advising bank. Confirmed credit In this type of credit, advising bank confirms credit to the seller. When the advising bank confirms that the documents presented are conforming to the terms of the credit, it will make the payment to the seller, and after that advising bank will contact with the issuing bank to get the payment. This type of letter of credit is commonly used, when the seller is unfamiliar with the issuing bank. Such a type of letter of credit is quite expensive because the banks have some liability. Step-by-step process In international trade as the buyer and seller are in different countries so when the buyer and the seller of the goods agree to conduct business, than because of the gap of time between delivery of goods and the payment, usually the seller wants a letter of credit as a guarantee of payment from the buyer. Than the buyer makes a request to his bank called the issuing to open a credit in the favour of the seller. at the request of the buyer, issuing bank issues a letter of credit in favour of the seller and forwards it to the corresponding bank called the advising or conforming bank., which is usually located in the seller’s country. Advising bank than either confirms the credit or not, depending upon the type of credit, and forward it to the seller. Seller than ships the goods and collects the documents required in order to meet the requirements of the letter of credit and finally to get the payment in time. Seller presents the required documents to the advising or confirming bank in order to get the payment in time. Advising or confirming bank examines the documents presented by the seller to check that whether they are conforming to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. If the documents are in compliance, advising or confirming bank, in case of confirmed letter of credit, will make payment to the seller and will be reimbursed from the issuing bank and in case of unconfirmed letter of credit, advising or confirming bank will forward the documents to the issuing bank. Than the Issuing bank will, after examine of the documents, debit the buyers account if the documents are in compliance to the terms of the letter of credit. In the end, Issuing bank forwards the documents to the buyer. Most commonly used documents in a letter of credit transaction include: Commercial Invoice This includes description of the goods, their price, FOB origin, and name and address of the buyer and the seller. The buyer and seller information must be in compliance with the description provided in the letter of credit. Bill of Lading It is a document which shows the receipt of goods for shipment by a freight carrier. It is an evidence of the control of the goods and also acts as an evidence of the carriers obligation to transport the goods to their proper destination. Warranty of Title A warranty given by a seller to a buyer of goods that states that the title being conveyed is good. It is generally issued to the purchaser. Letter of Indemnity It is a letter specifically indemnifies the purchaser against a certain stated circumstance. Indemnification is generally used to guarantee that shipping documents will be provided in good order when available. Common Defects in the documents presented A discrepancy is some defect in the documents presented by the seller, which show their non-compliance with the terms of the letter of credit. Issuing bank can not change the terms and conditions of the letter of credit with out t he permission of the buyer. Therefore to avoid any delay in getting payment. Beneficiary should be careful in preparing the required documents. Common defects in the documents presented by the seller include: If the description of the goods is not consistent. There is some error in the insurance documents. If the draft amount is not equal to invoice amount. Loading and destination ports are not same as provided by the letter of credit. Merchandise description is not same as in the credit. If any of the documents required by the credit is not presented. Documents are generally inconsistent such as quality, etc. If the names of the documents required are not correct, as mentioned in the credit. Invoice is not signed as provided in the letter of credit. If prior to the presentation of the draft, Letter of Credit has expired. If the date mention in the bill of lading is different from the date stated in the credit. If there are some changes in the invoice which are not authorized by the letter of credit. In international sales, as the seller and the buyer are in different countries, there is a common problem of payment due to the difference of time between dispatch and delivery. Obviously, seller would like to receive payment for the goods when delivering them to the carrier and the buyer would prefer to delay the payment of the price until receipt of the goods. Therefore, a letter of credit solves this problem between the seller and the buyer. Generally, there are three separate transactions in a letter of credit transaction. The first is between a seller and a buyer, called an underlying transaction, by which the seller provides contracted goods to the buyer. The second transaction is between the buyer-applicant and the bank (issuer of the letter of credit), in which the bank issues a letter of credit to the seller-beneficiary. Finally, the letter of credit itself creates a relationship between the issuer and the beneficiary, in which, the issuer makes payment for goods upon the beneficiary’s presentation of the required documents, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the letter of credit as agreed between seller and buyer. The bank’s performance of payment is conditional on the delivery of conforming documents by the beneficiary. The banks are called issuers and are usually the applicant’s bank. Normally the issuing bank opens a letter of credit in its own name and requests its correspondent bank to notify the seller about the letter of credit. Sometimes, the issuing bank asks the correspondent bank not only to inform the seller of the issuing bank’s undertaking but also to add a confirmation. In this case, the credit is known as a confirmed credit and the correspondent bank as a confirming bank. The payment obligation of the issuing bank depends upon the beneficiary’s presentation of complying documents to the confirming bank or to any other nominated bank, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the credit. Under general practice, presenting â€Å"complying documents† means that they comply with the conditions of the credit â€Å"on their face†. From banking point of view, compliance â€Å"on their face† of the presented documents is sufficient. The â€Å"independence principle† (which will be discussed later) is the fundamental principle of the letter of credit system, which prohibits banks from looking beyond facial compliance of the documents, and therefore exclude whether or not there is actual performance by the seller-beneficiary. In fact, letters of credit system has emphasised the independence principle to such an extent that banks are ignoring the performance of the underlying contract very confidently. As a result, all the risk is on the honest buyers, who are sometime paying for goods that they had not contracted for. Importance of the research The primary purpose of the letter of credit system is to facilitate international trade, rather than to provide an opportunity to the banks to make profit. As the fraud is very common in these days, but UCP is not designed to prevent fraud. The number of frauds relating to the letters of credit has increased over the years. Buyers are particularly vulnerable to such practices under the letter of credit system. This situation shows that there is some ambiguity in the letter of credit system and a lack of balance between the rights and duties of the parties to a letter of credit transaction, which is being exploited very easily by fraudsters. Division of risk under a Letter of Credit Transaction As we have discussed above, a letter of credit transaction consists of three linked but independent contracts. The first step is that the buyer makes a contract with the seller for the sale of goods, called the underlying contract. Subsequently the buyer signs an application form requesting the bank to open a credit, which is an arrangement between the buyer and the bank. The third step is that the issuing bank informs the seller, who is the beneficiary of the letter of credit, of the credit and promises to pay against the stipulated documents provided the terms and conditions of the credit are met. The letter of credit allocates risk between the applicant and the beneficiary. By postulating a letter of credit, the beneficiary may greatly reduce the risk of not being paid and ultimately allowing the beneficiary of the letter to reallocate the risk of non-payment for delivered goods which do not conform to the underlying sale contract. Generally, banks are reluctant to dishonour a credit, since to do so may damage the bank’s reputation as a credit issuer. The cost of honour, however, falls on the honest applicant, not the bank. â€Å"If the beneficiary has breached the underlying transaction, payment under the credit to him will occasion loss, but that loss will not be the bank’s; it will be the applicant’s.† Increase in the applicant’s risk and decrease in the bank’s risk under UCP UCP is the governing law of the letters of credit, therefore there should be a balance regarding the rights and duties of the parties, but UCP contains rules that reduce bank risk. There is no provision asking for judicial intervention to compensate letter of credit parties in case of bank’s negligence. The provisions in favour of banks fall into two categories. The first provides sweeping immunity from liabilities that national legal systems may impose. Example of such a disclaimer is Article 15. Under Article 15, banks assume no liability for the genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any documents and therefore the issuer is immune from the liability for paying against forged documents, which on their face appear regular. Therefore, the payment by the issuing bank does not show that the buyer has received the goods, which he had contracted for. The security, which the beneficiary is getting under the letter of credit system is not the same with the security of the buyer. The second category of pro-bank provisions contains rules that set precise boundaries on what the banks must do, which reduces uncertainty about bank responsibility and provides clear guidance to bank employees. For example, the customer cannot stipulate non-documentary conditions of payment, and time limits on examination of documents are fixed rather than open-ended. In case of any loss, the buyer, which is the applicant for a credit, can take action against the seller for breach of contract or fraud, but has no right of action against the bank for bank’s negligence in examining the documents, which can be ineffectual for several reasons, such as insolvency of either the applicant or the beneficiary. Hence the burden of risk on the applicant is more than any party in a letter of credit transaction and in most of the cases, buyers are paying for the goods, they have not contracted for. Chapter 2 UCP and letters of credit Originally UCP has been drafted by the Banking Commission of the ICC, which was comprised of the representatives of the banking community, which shows the dominance of the banks and banking experts. Their dominance in UCP drafting, hints that in drafting UCP, ICC was acting as a private legislature. It looks that the rules contain in the UCP are much beneficial for the banks than any other party, and giving a limited chance to the judiciaries to interfere to protect customers from any careless behaviour of the banks. The authority to interpret the UCP rests in the ICC Commission on Banking Technique and Practice, which can apply these interpretations to solve the problems arising in any case. Because of wide publicity and distribution of commission’s answers, their interpretation can be considered as an official interpretation of the UCP. Commission can enhance, interpreting, and sometimes amend the provisions of the UCP. The banks which deal with the letters of credit, act upon these interpretations and any amendments. As in theory, commission is only answerable to ICC members, therefore the chances of any challenge to such interpretation is very low. Role of courts in balancing the rights and duties of the parties In Discount Records Ltd. v. Barclay Bank Ltd., the judge was reluctant to â€Å"interfere with bankers’ irrevocable credit and not least in the sphere of international banking†. The position is same in many other cases. The apparent reason for the reluctance of the judges to interfere looks that they are afraid from the threats of the banking experts that their decisions would have an unfavourable affect on international trade. The difficulties of the courts to balance the rights and duties of all parties to a letter of credit transaction have increased. In Mannesman Handel AG v. Kaunlaran Shipping Corporation, the Swiss bank argued that the bank was in rejecting the documents by the German company relying on the independence principle and the discrepancies appeared on the documents. The court was asked not to apply the good faith principle otherwise the court â€Å"would be calculated to undermine if not destroy the doctrine of strict compliance and to blur if not extinguish the distinction between transactions concerning goods and transactions concerning documents.† Normally the judicial decisions relating to the legal aspects of documentary credits base on either the express intentions of the parties or established business practice at the time, the parties entered in a contractual relationship. In cases where the UCP provisions are different from business practice, a court will apply the UCP if the UCP is incorporated in the contract of the parties. It shows that courts have assented to the entire documentary credit system being run by the banking industry and eventually abstaining the courts to intervene to balance the legal rights and duties amongst all the parties. Should the UCP have the status of law? Leading scholar Professor Ross Buckley says: â€Å"originally, the UCP was neither designed nor intended to be law. It was prepared as a set of standard terms to be incorporated by reference into letters of credit by those parties who chose to do so.† This has also been confirmed by the UCP in the preface of UCP 500, which states that the UCP is not legislation but a compilation of rules made by bankers for their own industry. Therefore there is a dispute as to whether the UCP is a code of the law, or just customary practices, or some mutually consented regulations relating to letters of credit. However in fact, UCP is the governing law of the letters of credit. The Scope of the Banks Duties Before analysing the wording of the disclaimers used, the scope of the duties undertaken by the banks involved must be identified. Whereas the type of credit and the documentary stipulations therein will usually have been negotiated by the commercial parties and included in their sales contract, the terms and conditions under which a bank undertakes to open a documentary credit will normally appear in the banks standard application form which the importer will be required to complete. Although the application would normally refer to the UCP, it is important to note that the provisions of the UCP would not automatically apply in English law if not expressly incorporated by the parties to the credit and, even if expressly incorporated, its provisions can be excluded, or modified by the express terms of the credit. The duty to issue an efficacious credit The importers failure to procure the issue of a documentary credit which conforms to the terms of the sales contract may be treated by the exporter as a breach of a condition precedent to his performance and a repudiation of the contract by the importer. Whether the applicant can sue the issuing bank in respect of its culpable failure to issue (or to issue in good time) a conforming and efficacious credit is, however, by no means clear. The duty to issue a conforming credit An initial problem arises where the applicant requires the issue of a confirmed credit, that is, a credit in which a second bank, normally in the beneficiarys country, adds its own independent undertaking, to pay against the stipulated documents, to that of the issuing bank. Is the issuing bank in breach of contract towards the applicant if it is unable to procure the confirmation? The answer must depend upon the issuers conduct on receiving the application from the applicant. The second aspect of the duty to issue a conforming credit raises the question of liability for the acts of other banks involved in the transaction. Clearly, if the issuing bank opens a credit which specifies documentation other than that called for by the applicant, then in the absence of a disclaimer it will be in breach of its contract with the applicant under the doctrine of strict compliance. The position should be the same where the issuing bank unreasonably delays issue of the credit so that the beneficiary incurs loss. A difficulty arises, however, when it is not the issuing bank itself which causes the error or delay in complying with the applicants instructions, but the issuers correspondent bank. The doctrine of privity of contract would appear to prevent contractual liability arising in this context. However, in any event, it appears that there is no reason for holding that, in the absence of a disclaimer; an issuing bank should not be liable for the consequences of errors by its correspondents. Duty to receive and examine documents The doctrine of strict compliance means that issuing banks which pay against non-conforming documents are in breach of their contractual obligations to the applicant. The issuer is not, however, a guarantor of the documents conformity; its duty is discharged by the exercise of reasonable care to ascertain that the documents comply on their face with the terms of the credit. Duty to make payment under the terms of the credit The party with the primary interest in enforcing the banks obligation to pay against conforming documents is the beneficiary although it is clear that this obligation is also owed to the applicant. Furthermore, any variation of the payment terms would be a clear breach of contract. Duties of correspondent banks In so far as the confirming bank gives an undertaking in exactly the same terms as the issuing bank, it clearly owes precisely the same duties to the beneficiary. However, since a confirming bank looks to the issuing bank alone for reimbursement, it may be prima facie unlikely that it owes any duty to the applicant, even where the applicant is paying the confirmation fee. There are, however, some judicial dicta which might support the recognition of such a duty. Bank’s risk under UCP (exemption clauses) Article 15 and 18 (b) of the UCP 500, limits the liability of the banks in a letter of credit transaction and which have almost made it a risk free transaction for the banks. Article 15 says: â€Å"Banks assume no liability to or responsibility for the form, sufficiency, accuracy, genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any document(s) or for the general and/or particular conditions stipulated in the document(s) or superimposed thereon, nor do they assume any liability or responsibility for the description, quantity, weight, quality, condition, packing, delivery, value or existence of the goods represented by any document(s) or for the good-faith or acts and/or omissions, solvency, performance or standing of the consignors, the carriers, the forwarders, the consignee or the insurers of the goods or any other person whomsoever.† Article 18(b) further states: â€Å"Banks assume no liability or responsibility should the instructions they submit not be carried out, even if they have themselves taken the initiative in the choice of such other bank(s).† The UCP 500 places the applicant-buyer in an absurdly vulnerable position through its disclaimer clauses. To some extent there is a lack of duties on the part of the bank to verify the authenticity of the documents. Hence it might not be wrong to say that albeit there is a waste increase in the use of letters of credit, does not signify that the UCP is fairly drafted. Letters of credit and its users It is also very important that whether all the parties to the letter of credit, particularly applicant-buyer are conscious about the presence of these exemptions, e.g. by providing a copy of these exemption clauses of the UCP or by giving a notice of these exemption clauses. It is a rule that to enforce an exemption clause, a reasonable notice should be given to the other party but in practice, buyers are assume to have the notice of the UCP and that they are familiar with the provisions of the UCP. Further, the application for the issuance of a letter of credit and the letter of credit document itself only contain a simple sentence: â€Å"Subject to UCP for Documentary Credits†, without any attachment of the provisions of the UCP or any notice of such exemption clauses. Hence it is debatable that why the courts do not look, while dealing with the cases relating to the letters of credit, that whether a reasonable notice has been given relating to the exemption clauses and do not interfere to balance the rights and duties of the parties to a letter of credit transaction? Chapter 3 Doctrine of strict compliance and independence principle It is a basic rule of the letter of the credit transaction and which is widely recognised that the letters of credit are transactions independent of the underlying contracts on which they are based. According to this principle, the issuer has no concern with the underlying contracts between buyer and seller. Its concern is with documents only, rather than the goods or any type of services. Obviously there are some doubts about this principle, i.e. to what extent this principle should be applied. Which some tome may cause injustice to the applicant under certain circumstances. Independence Principle Generally, letter of credit is a contract between the issuer and the seller of the goods, which is independent of the underlying contract between the seller and the buyer. The independence principle is mentioned in Article 3 and Article 4 of the UCP. Article 3 states: â€Å"Credits, by their nature, are separated transactions from the sales or other contract(s), even if any reference whatsoever to such contract(s) is included in the Credit.† Article 4 further says: â€Å"In credit operations all parties concerned deal with documents and not with goods, services and/or other performances to which the documents may relate.† From the very beginning independence principle governs letter of credit transactions and very clearly states that the credits are completely separate from their underlying transactions and the issuer makes payment depending on the conformity of the documents presented according to the terms and conditions of the credit without considering the performance of the underlying contract by the beneficiary.

Hplc Analysis Of Aloe Vera Tablets Biology Essay

Hplc Analysis Of Aloe Vera Tablets Biology Essay The project work was aimed to achieve the quantitative determination of aloin and aloe emodin in the form of tablets by employing HPLC. The method used was reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. Calibration curve method was used for the quantification of aloin and aloe emodin. The mobile phase was the mixture of acetonitrile and deionised water in the ratio of 60:40 respectively. The mobile phase was pumped at 1.5 ml/minute and the analyte was quantified at the wavelength of 220 and 296nm. The column used for separation was kromasil 5C18. Reverse phase Isocratic run of standard aloin and standard aloe emodin was done and the peaks obtained from their analysis were used to compare the test sample peaks. Aloe vera colax tablets manufactured by Aloe pura laboratories were used as the test sample tablets which were extracted with water, methanol, acetonitrile, methanol-water and acetonitrile-water. After extraction they were subjected for isocratic run in HPLC instrument a nd the data obtained were compared with that of the standard. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction to Aloe Vera Aloes is the dried juice of the leaves of Aloe barbadensis Miller, known as Curacao aloes, or of Aloe perryi Baker known as Socotrine aloes, or of Aloe ferox Miller and hybrids of the species of Aloe africana Miller and Aloe spicata Baker, known as Cape aloes belonging to the family Liliaceae. [2,3] The synonym of aloes is Aalwee, Aalwyn, Kumari, Star cactus, Aroe, Acibar, Babosa, etc. [1] Aloes is indigeneous to eastern and southern Africa and grown in Cape colony, Zanzibar and islands of Socotra. It is also cultivated in Caribbean islands, Europe and many parts of India, including North West Himalayan region. [2] All the varieties of aloe are the major sources of anthraquinone glycosides. The principal active composition of aloe is aloin, which is a mixture of glucosides, among which barbaloin is the chief constituent. It is chemically aloe-emodin anthrone C-10 glucoside and is water-soluble. [2] Barbaloin is a C- glycoside and it is not hydrolysed by heating with dilute acids or alkalies. Ferric chloride decomposes barbaloin by oxidative hydrolysis into aloe-emodin-anthrone, little aloe-emodin and glucose. [2] Along with barbaloin, aloes also contains isobarbaloin, b-barbaloin, aloe-emodin and resins. The drug also contains aloetic acid, homonataloin, aloesone, chrysophanic acid, chrysamminic acid, galactouronic acid, choline, choline salicylate, saponins, mucopolysaccharides, glucosamines, hexuronic acid, coniferyl alcohol, etc. [2] The amount of barbaloin in different commercial varieties varies to a large extent. Curacao aloes contain about 22 percent of barbaloin. Indian variety, generally Aloe vera contain very less quantity (3.5 to 4 percent). Curacao aloes contains two and half times quantity of aloe-emodin , compared to Cape-aloe-emodin. [2] The resin of aloe principally contains Aloesin. It is a type of C- glucosyl chromome. Aloesin is also responsible for purgative action of aloes. [2] Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Aloin [5] Aloe emodin [6] 1.2 Uses of Aloe Vera: Aloes is used as purgative. Its effect is mainly on colon. It has a stronger purgative action in the series of all crude drugs with anthracene glycosidal content. To counter effect the gripping action, it is given along with carminatives. [2] It facilitates the healing of any kind of skin wound, burn, or scald even speeding recovery time after surgery. [4] It is applied topically in acne, sunburn, frostbite (it appears to prevent decreased blood flow), shingles, screening out x-ray radiation, psoriasis, preventing scarring, rosacea, warts, wrinkles from aging, and eczema. [2, 4] It also seems to help prevent opportunistic infections in cases of HIV and AIDS due to its immune system stimulant properties. [4] It appears to be of help in cancer patients (including lung cancer) by cativating white blood cells and promoting growth of non- cancerous cells. [4] Aloe also appears to work on heartburn, arthritis, and rheumatism pain and asthma. [2, 4] It also lowers the blood sugar levels in diabetics. [2, 4] Other situations in which it appears to work when taken internally inclue congestion, internal worms, indigestion, stomach ulcers, colitis, hemorrhoids, liver problems such as cirrhosis and hepatitis, kidney infections, urinary tract infections, prostate problems, and as a general detoxifier. [2, 4] CHAPTER 2 HPLC 2.1 HPLC: Introduction and Instrumentation The technique of high performance liquid chromatography is so called because of its improved performance when compared to classical column chromatography. It is also called as high-pressure liquid chromatography since pressure is used when compared to classical column chromatography. Instead of a solvent being allowed to drip through a column under gravity, it is forced through under high pressure of up to 400 atmospheres. For the separation, identification and quantification of compounds, this method is frequently used in biochemistry and analytical chemistry. [11, 12] The development of HPLC from classical column chromatography can be attributed to the development of smaller particle sizes. Smaller particle size is important since they offer more surface area over the conventional larger sizes. [7] 1960s 40 to 60m 1970s 10 to 20m 1980s 5 to 10m 1990s 1 to 3m A porous particle of 5m offers a surface area of 100-860 sq.metres/gram with an average of 400 sq.metres/gram. These offer very high plate counts upto 100,000/metre. Table 1: Comparison of classical column chromatography with HPLC [7] Parameter Classical column chromatography HPLC Stationary phase particle size Large 60-200m Small 3-20m Column size Length x int. diameter Large 0.5-5m x 0.5-5cm i.d. Small 5-50cm x 1-10mm i.d. Column material Glass Mostly metal Column packing pressure Slurry packed at low pressure often gravity Slurry packed at high pressure >5000 psi Operating pressure Low ( High (500 3000 psi) Flow rates Low to very low Medium to high (Often >3ml/min) Sample load Low to medium (g/mg) Low to very low (mg) Parameter Classical column chromatography HPLC Cost Low High Detector flow cell volume Large 300 to 1000ml Low 2 to 10ml Column efficiency i.e. Resolving power (Low) Theoretical plates per meter (High) often >100,000 Plates per meter Types of stationary phases available Limited range Wide range Scale of operation Preparative scale Analytical and preparative scale 2.2 Types of HPLC techniques [7, 9, 10, 11, 12] Based on Modes of Chromatography There are two modes viz. Normal phase mode and Reverse phase mode. These modes are based on the polarity of stationary phase and mobile phase. Before explaining the modes, it is important to know the interactions, which occur between solute, stationary and mobile phase. Polar Polar interaction or affinity is more Nonpolar Nonpolar interaction or affinity is more Polar Nonpolar interaction or affinity is less Normal phase mode: In normal phase mode, the stationary phase (eg. Silica gel) is polar in nature and the mobile phase is non-polar. In this technique, non-polar compounds travel faster and are eluted first. This is because of less affinity between solute and stationary phase. Polar compounds are retained for longer time in the column because of more affinity towards stationary phase and take more time to be eluted from the column. This is not advantageous in pharmaceutical applications since most of the drug molecules are polar in nature and takes longer time to be eluted and detected. Hence this technique is not widely used in pharmacy. Reverse phase mode: In reverse phase technique, a non-polar stationary phase is used. The mobile phase is polar in nature. Hence polar components get eluted first and non-polar compounds are retained for a longer time. Since most of the drugs and pharmaceuticals are polar in nature, they are not retained for a longer time and eluted faster, which is advantageous. Different columns used are ODS (Octadecyl silane) or C18, C8, C4, etc. Common reverse phase solvents are methanol, acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran and water. Based on principle of separation Adsorption chromatography Ion exchange chromatography Ion pair chromatography Size exclusion or Gel permeation chromatography Affinity chromatography Chiral phase chromatography Each of the above technique is described in brief as follows: Adsorption chromatography: The principle of separation is adsorption. Separation of components takes place because of the difference in affinity of compounds towards stationary phase. This principle is seen in normal phase as well as reverse phase mode, where adsorption takes place. Ion exchange chromatography: The principle of separation is ion exchange, which is reversible exchange of functional groups. In ion exchange chromatography, an ion exchange resin is used to separate a mixture of similar charged ions. For cations, a cation exchange resin is used. For anions, an anion exchange resin is used. Ion pair chromatography: In ion pair chromatography, a reverse phase column is converted temporarily into ion exchange column by using ion pairing agents like pentane or hexane or heptane or octane sulphonic acid sodium salt, trtramethyl or tetraethyl ammonium hydroxide, etc. Size exclusion or gel permeation chromatography: In this type of chromatography, a mixture of components with different molecular sizes is separated by using gels. The gel used acts as molecular sieve and hence a mixture of substances with different molecular sizes is separated. Soft gels like agarose , dextran or polyacrylamide are used. Semi rigid gels like polystyrene, alkyl dextran in non-aqueous medium are also used. The mechanism of separation is by steric and diffusion effects. Affinity chromatography: Affinity chromatography uses the affinity of the sample with specific stationary phases. This technique is mostly used in the field of Biotechnology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, etc. Chiral phase chromatography: Separation of optical isomers can be done by using chiral stationary phases. Different principles operate for different types of stationary phases and for different samples. The stationary phases used for this type of chromatography are mostly chemically bonded silica gel. Based on elution technique 1. Isocratic separation: In this technique, the same mobile phase combination is used throughout the process of separation. The same polarity or elution strength is maintained throughout the process. In this technique, the peak width increases with retention time linearly according to the equation for N, the number of theoretical plates. Gradient separation: In this technique, a mobile phase combination of lower polarity or elution strength is used followed by gradually increasing the polarity or elution strength. One example is a gradient starting at 10% acetonitrile and ending at 90% acetonitrile after 25 minutes. The two components of the mobile phase are termed as A and B. Where A is the weak solvent and B is the strong solvent. Weak solvent allows the solute to elute slowly while strong solvent rapidly elutes the solutes from the column. A is usually water where as B is an organic solvent which is miscible with water such as acetonitrile, methanol, THF or isopropanol. Based on scale of operation 1. Analytical HPLC: Where only analysis of the samples are done. Recovery of the samples for reusing is normally not done, since the sample used is low. Eg. mg quantities. 2. Preparative HPLC: Where the individual fractions of pure compounds can be collected using fraction collector. The collected samples are reused eg. Separation of few grams of mixtures by HPLC. Based on type on analysis 1. Qualitative analysis: Which is used to identify the compound, detect the presence of impurities, to find out the number of components, etc. This is done by using retention time values. 2. Quantitative analysis: Which is done to determine the quantity of the individual or several components in a mixture. This is done by comparing the peak area of the standard and sample. 2.3 Principle of separation in HPLC: [7, 9] The principle of separation in normal phase and reverse phase mode is adsorption. When a mixture of components is introduced in to a HPLC column, they travel according to their relative affinities towards the stationary phase. The component, which has more affinity towards the adsorbant, travels slower. The component, which has less affinity towards the stationary phase, travels faster. Since no two components have the same affinity towards the stationary phase, the components are separated. 2.4 Instrumental Requirements [7, 9, 10, 12] Pumps solvent delivery system Mixing unit, gradient controller and solvent degassing Injector Manual or auto injectors Guard columns Detectors Recorders and integrators Fig. 3 The schematic diagram of HPLC [13] 1. Pump Solvent delivery system The solvents or mobile phases used must be passed through the column at high pressure at about 1000 to 3000 psi. This is because as the particle size of stationary phase is few m (5 10m), the resistance to the flow of solvent is high. Hence such high pressure is recommended. There are different types of pumps available. They are mechanical pumps and pneumatic pumps. A mechanical pump operates with constant flow rate and uses a sapphire piston. This type of pump is used in analytical scale. Pneumatic pumps operate with constant pressure and use highly compressed gas. The solvents used must be of high purity, preferably HPLC grade and filtered through 0.45m filter. Check valves: These are present to control the flow rate of solvent and back pressure. Pulse dampners: These are used to dampen the pulses observed from the wavy baseline caused by the pumps. 2. Mixing unit, gradient controller and solvent degassing Mixing unit is used to mix solvents in different proportions and pass through the column. There are two types of mixing units. They are low pressure mixing chamber, which uses helium for degassing solvents. High pressure mixing chamber does not require helium for degassing solvents. Mixing of solvents is done either with a static mixer, which is packed with beads, or dynamic mixer, which uses magnetic stirrer and operates under high pressure. Gradient controller In an isocratic separation, mobile phase is prepared by using pure solvent or mixture of solvents, i.e. solvent of same eluting power or polarity is used. But in gradient elution technique, the polarity of the solvent is gradually increased and hence the solvent composition has to be changed. Hence a gradient controller is used when two or more solvent pumps are used for such separations. Solvent degassing Several gases are soluble in organic solvents. When solvents are pumped under high pressure, gas bubbles are formed which will interfere with the separation process, steady baseline and the shape of the peak. Hence degassing of the solvent is important. This can be done by using any one of the following technique. Vacuum filtration which can remove all air bubbles. But it is not always reliable and complete. Helium purging i.e. by passing helium through the solvent. This is very effective but helium is expensive. Ultrasonication by using ultrasonicator, which converts ultra high frequency to mechanical vibrations. This causes the removal of air bubbles. 3. Injector Manual or auto injectors Several devices are available either for manual or auto injection of the sample. Different devices are: Septum injectors for injecting the sample through a rubber septum. This is not common, since the septum has to withstand high pressure. Stop flow (on line) in which the flow of mobile phase is stopped for a while and the sample is injected through a valve device. Rheodyne injector (Loop valve type) It is the most popular injector. This has a fixed volume loop like 20ml or 50ml or more. Injector has two modes, i.e. load position when the sample is loaded in the loop and inject mode, when the sample is injected. 4. Guard column Guard column has very small quantity of adsorbent and improves the life of the analytical column. It also acts as a prefilter to remove particulate matter, if any, and other material. Guard column has the same material as that of analytical column. Guard column does not contribute to any separation. 5. Analytical columns Analytical column is the most important part of HPLC technique, which decides the efficiency of separation. There are several stationary phases available depending upon the technique or mode of separation used. Column material: The columns are made up of stainless steel, glass, polyethylene and PEEK (Poly ether ether ketone). Most widely used are stainless steel, which can withstand high pressure. Latest ones are PEEK columns. Column length: Varies from 5cm to 30cm Column diameter: Ranges from 2mm to 50mm Particle size: From 1m to 20m Particle nature: Spherical, uniform sized, porous materials are used. Surface area: 1 gram of stationary phase provides surface area ranging from 100 860 sq.m with an average of 400 sq.m. Functional group: the functional group present in stationary phase depends on the type of chromatographic separation. In normal phase mode it contains the silanol groups (hydroxy group). In reverse phase mode it contains the following groups: C18 Octa Decyl Silane (ODS) column C8 Octyl column C4 Butyl column CN Nitrile column NH2 Amino column For other modes of chromatography, ion exchange columns, gel columns, chiral columns, affinity chromatographic columns, etc. are available. 6. Detectors [7,9,10] Detectors used depend upon the property of the compounds to be separated. Different detectors available are UV detector: This detector is based upon the light absorption characteristics of the sample. Two types of this detector are available. One is the fixed wavelength detector, which operates at 254nm where most drug compounds absorb. The other is the variable wavelength detector, which can be operated from 190nm to 600nm. Refractive index detector: This is a non-specific or universal detector. This is not much used for analytical applications because of low sensitivity and specificity. Flourimetric detector: This detector is based on the fluorescent radiation emitted by some class of compounds. The exitation wavelength and emission wavelength can be selected for each compound. This detector has more specificity and sensitivity. The disadvantage is that some compounds are not fluorescent. Conductivity detector: Based upon electrical conductivity, the response is recorded. This detector is used when the sample has conducting ions like anions and cations. Amperometric detector: This detector is based on the reduction or oxidation of the compounds when a potential is applied. The diffusion current recorded is proportional to the concentration of the compound eluted. This is applicable when compounds have functional groups, which can be either oxidised or reduced. This is a highly sensitive detector. Photodiode array detector (PDA detector): This is a recent one, which is similar to UV detector, which operates from 190 600nm. Radiations of all wavelengths fall on the detector simultaneously. The resulting spectrum is a 3-D or three-dimensional plot of Response Vs Time Vs Wavelength. The advantage is that the wavelength need not be selected, but the detector detects the responses of all the compounds. 7. Recorders and integrators Recorders: They are used to record the responses obtained from detectors after amplification, if necessary. They record the baseline and all the peaks obtained, with respect to time. Retention time for all the peaks can be found out from such recordings, but the area of individual peaks cannot be known. Integrators: Integrators are improved version of recorders with some data processing capabilities. They can record the individual peaks with retention time, height, and width of peaks, peak area, percentage of area, etc. Integrators provide more information on peaks than recorders. Now a days computers and printers are used for recording and processing the obtained data and for controlling several operations. 2.5 Parameters used in HPLC [7, 9, 10] Retention time (Rt): Retention time is the difference in the time between the point of injection and appearance of peak maxima. Retention time is the time required for 50% of a component to be eluted from a column. Retention time is measured in minutes or seconds. Retention time is also proportional to the distance moved on a chart paper, which can be measured in cm or mm. Retention volume (Vr): Retention volume is the volume of mobile phase required to elute 50% of the component from the column. It is the product of retention time and flow rate. Retention volume = Retention time x flow rate Separation factor (S): Separation factor is the ratio of partition co-efficient of the two components to be separated. It can be expressed and determined by using the following equation: S = Kb/ Ka = Ka/ Kb = (tb t0)/ (ta t0) Where, t0 = Retention time of unretained substance Kb, Ka= Partition coefficients of b and a tb, ta = Retention time of substance b and a S = depends on liquid phase, column temperature If there is more difference in partition coefficient between two compounds, the peaks are far apart and the separation factor is more. If the partition coefficients of two compounds are similar, then the peaks are closer and the separation factor is less. Resolution: Resolution is a measure of the extent of separation of two components and the baseline separation achieved. It can be determined by using the following formula: Rs = 2 (Rt1 Rt2)/ (W1 +W2) Theoretical plate (Plate theory): A theoretical plate is an imaginary or hypothetical unit of a column where distribution of solute between stationary phase and mobile phase has attained equilibrium. A theoretical plate can also be called as a functional unit of the column. HETP Height Equivalent to a Theoritical Plate [18, 7] A theoretical plate can be of any height, which decides the efficiency of separation. If HETP is less, the column is more efficient. If HETP is more, the column is less efficient. HETP can be calculated by using the following formula: HETP = length of the column/ number of theoretical plates HETP is given by Van Deemter equation HETP = A + (B/u ) + Cu Where, A = Eddy diffusion term or multiple path diffusion which arises due to packing of the column. This is unaffected by mobile phase velocity or flow rate. This can be minimised by uniformity in packing. B = Longitudinal diffusion term or molecular diffusion which depends on flow rate. C = Effect of mass transfer which depends on flow rate. u = Flow rate or velocity of the mobile phase. A column is efficient only when HETP is minimum. Hence an ideal flow rate corresponding to the minimum value of HETP is used. Efficiency (No. of theoretical plates): The number of theoretical plates expresses efficiency of a column. It can be determined by using the formula: n = 16 Rt ²/w ² Where, n = no. of theoretical plates Rt = retention time w = peak width at base Rt and w are measured in common units (mm or cm or minutes or seconds) and are proportional to the distances marked on chart paper. If the number of theoretical plates is high, the column is said to be highly efficient. If the number of theoretical plates is low, the column is said to be less efficient. For gas chromatographic columns, a value of 600/ metre is sufficient. But in HPLC, high values like 40,000 to 70,000/ metre are recommended. Asymmetry factor: A chromatographic peak should be symmetrical about its centre and said to follow Gaussian distribution. In such cases, the peak will be like an isosceles triangle. But in practice, due to some factors, the peak is not symmetrical and shows tailing or fronting. Fronting is due to saturation of stationary phase and can be avoided by using less quantity of sample. Tailing is due to more active adsorption sites and can be eliminated by support pre-treatment, more polar mobile phased increasing the amount of liquid phase. Asymmetry factor (0.95 to 1.05) can be calculated by using the formula: AF = b/a (b and a calculated at 5% or 10% of the peak height) 2.6 Applications of HPLC HPLC is being more widely used in several fields. Apart from its use in Pharmaceutical field, it is used in Chemical and Petrochemical industry, Environmental applications, Forensic applications, Biochemical separations, Biotechnology, Food analysis, etc. In fact there is no field where HPLC is not being used. It is a versatile and sensitive technique, which can be used in several ways. Some of them are listed below: Qualitative analysis: It is nothing but identification of compound. This is done by comparing the retention time of the sample as well as the standard. Under identical conditions, the retention time of the standard and the sample are same. If there is a deviation, then they are not the same compound. Checking the purity of the compound: By comparing the chromatogram of the standard and that of the sample, the purity of the compound can be inferred. If additional peaks are obtained, impurities are present and hence the compound is not pure. From the percentage area of the peaks obtained, the percentage purity can also be known. Presence of impurities: This can be seen by the presence of additional peaks when compared with a reference standard or reference material. The percentage of impurities may also be calculated from peak areas. Quantitative analysis: The quantity of a component can be determined by several methods like a. Direct comparison method By injecting a sample and standard separately and comparing their peak areas, the quantity of the sample can be determined. Area of the peak = peak height x width of peak at the half height A1/ A2 = a (W1/ W2) Where, A1 and A2 are peak area of sample and standard W1 and W2 are weight or concentration of sample and standard a is the response factor b. Calibration curve method: In calibration curve method, series of standards are used to determine their peak areas. A calibration curve of peak area Vs concentration of the drug is plotted. From the peak area of the unknown sample, by intrapolation, the concentration of the sample can be determined. This method has the advantage that errors, if any, are minimised. Internal standard method: In this method, a compound with similar retention characteristics is used. A known concentration of the internal standard is added to the sample solution whose concentration is not known. The chromatogram is recorded and their peak areas are determined. By using formula, the concentration of unknown solution is determined. Multicomponent analysis or Determination of mixture of drugs: Similar to the quantification of a single drug, multicomponent analysis can be done easily. The quantity of each component is determined by using any one of the above methods. Marketed formulations, which contain several drugs, can be determined quantitatively for each component. Isolation and identification of drugs or metabolites in urine, plasma, serum, etc. can be carried out. Isolation and identification of mixture of components of natural or synthetic origin. Biopharmaceutical and Pharmacokinetic studies. Stability studies. Purification of some compounds of natural or synthetic origin on preparative scale. 2.7 Limitations: [7, 10] The limitations of HPLC are that drugs have to be extracted from their formulations prior to analysis and large amounts of organic solvent waste are generated which are expensive to dispose off. CHAPTER 3 Experimental Selection 3.1 Aim of Project: The aim of this project was to carry out the quantitative determination of the active pharmaceutical ingredient aloin and aloe-emodin in the given Aloe Vera Colax tablets, manufactured by Aloe Pura laboratories and to compare the results with the given standard aloin and aloe-emodin. The technique used for analysis was reverse phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography method. The analysis was performed using standard calibration curve generated at 220 and 296nm wavelength. 3.2 Chromatographic equipment and conditions: All the chromatographic equipments and conditions, which were used to perform HPLC in a laboratory environment under simulated GLP compliance conditions, are listed below. 3.2.1 HPLC system 5 (used for isocratic elution): This system is manufactured by Agilent technologies 1200 series, whose model number is G1310A and the serial number is DE 62956545 3.2.2 Software used: The software used was Microsoft windows XP, Pentium D whose product number is G 2175 BA, revision code is B. 03. 01 and its registration number is CL1CE8DB0F 3.2.3 Column used: The column used was Kromasil 5C18 whose test number is 9203- 10344 3.2.4 Pipette used: The pipette used was Volac ultra (made in U.K.), S. No. 29186, Model: R680/ F, 0-1000 mL and Volac ultra (made in U.K.), S.No. 29185, Model: R680/ F, 500-5000 mL. 3.2.5 Analytical Balance: Mettler balance AC 88 was used to weigh the sample drug whose Biom

Nightjohn And Number The Stars :: essays research papers

In Nightjohn there were a number of facts, details and incidents that contribute to the historical accuracy of the book. I have outlined some of the more specific examples as follows:There was a man who risked his life for the sake of teaching the other children in the surrounding plantations how to read and write. The owner of the plantation whipped his slaves for moving too slow and did go out with dogs and two field hands after any of the slaves if they decide to run. He brings two field hands with him so they can see what happens and retell the story back at the quarters. He does this basically so everyone will be horrified and won't decide to escape.Reading and writing was strictly forbidden because the owner wanted to keep them ignorant so they wouldn't rebel against him.Once a female got her "troubles" [menstrual cycle] they would be sent off to the breeding sheds to reproduce.The "mammy" took care of all the young ones until they were old enough to go out and work in the fields.The slaves were forced to eat from a trough like animals. The mammy would pray with her head inside a kettle so that the owners would not hear her pray. Praying, too, was strictly forbidden. Number the Stars contains even more facts, details and incidents that contribute to the historical accuracy of the book. They are outlined below:King Christian X was a King during the time of war in Denmark. He also surrendered to the Germans in 1940 because of the fact that "the country was small and undefended, with no army of any size." (Lowry 134). "It is true that he (King Christian) rode alone on his horse from the palace every morning, unguarded, and greeted his people." (Lowry 134). The German soldiers occupied Denmark for five years. The Germans controlled the rail system, hospitals, schools, government, and even the newspapers.The story about the soldier who saw King Christian ride by on his horse one morning and asked a boy "Where is his body guard?" to which the boy replied "All of Denmark is his bodyguard", is in fact, true. On August 1943, the Danes did sink their entire navy in Copenhagen harbor before the Germans came to take the ships for their own use. Also in 1943, anyone who gathered to worship at the synagogue, were warned by the rabbi that they were going to be taken and "relocated" by the Germans.

Twelfth Night: Summary :: essays research papers

Twelfth Night: Summary Act One scene one   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This scene introduces us to the Duke, who is in love with a girl called Olivia. His servant goes to ask her wether or not she would like to go out with the Duke. The message back from her servant is that Olivia will not be seen in public for seven years because of the death of her brother. Scene Two   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After a shipwreck, Viola finds herself of Illyria, a coastal town. She believes that her brother has been killed in the shipwreck, and that she will never get off this island. After learning about the Duke, she arranges with the captain of the ship to disguise herself and to serve the Duke. He may then fall in love with her. Scene Three   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sir Toby and Maria are talking to each other about Olivia's decision to morn for seven years. They are also talking about Sir Toby's drinking and friend, Sir Andrew, a foolish knight that has been brought to the castle as a suitor to Olivia. Sir Andrew says he is going to leave, but Sir Toby persuades him not to, as Olivia is not interested in the Duke. Maria leaves, and Andrew and Toby dance. Scene Four   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Viola, already disguised as Cesario (she is referred to as Cesario instead of Viola throughout the play), has already became a servant to the Duke. Her first job is to try and persuade Olivia to go out with the Duke. Viola has fallen in love with the Duke. Scene Five   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Maria and Feste the clown are talking when Olivia enters with Malvolio. She has a conversation with Feste, and he gets the better of her. Maria announces that a young ‘man' (Cesario) is here to see Olivia. She says that if he is from the Duke, she will not see him. Maria returns and says the young man will not take no for an answer, so Olivia meets him with Maria at her side. Cesario is very convincing about the Duke's love, but Olivia is not unstuck. She dismisses Cesario, and when by her self, shows that she is in love with ‘him'. She sends Malvolio with a ring Cesario apparently left behind, and said he should return tomorrow. Act Two Scene One   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sebastian, Violia's identical twin brother comes to shore after the shipwreck, saved by Antonio. He wants to be Sebastian's servant, but he says that he will make it to the Duke's court by himself. Scene Two   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Malvolio runs after Cesario to give him the ring. He denies that he gave it to her, and so Malvolio puts it on the ground in front of him.

Why People Commit Murder

What Triggers People to Commit Murder? Alicyn Nitsch Criminology April 17, 2013 Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide. (Wikipedia) In most countries, a person convicted of murder is typically given a long prison sentence, possibly a life sentence where permitted, and in some countries, the death penalty may be imposed for such an act. (Wikipedia) Murder has been a common crime in the United States and it has taken a lot of influence for kids and teens.  Control Key and Word – Text and Graphics.The rate of killings in the U. S. involving five or more victims — one generally accepted definition of a mass killing — represented less than 1% of all homicides 25 years ago, and still does today. (Kluger,Jeffery)Though it is difficult to have a control on such factors but a little attention of parents on their children can minimize growth of criminal nature in their kids. Education is another criterion of prevention of such criminal activities. Education makes a person to distinguish between right and wrong and makes him stable and balanced.He is thus able to withstand any kind of circumstances and develops a potential to overcome any situation. (Shipali, Sharma) Murders are committed for many different reasons. One major reason people commit murder is due to anger. People are often confronted with feelings of disappointment, frustration and anger as they interact with government officials, co-workers, family and even fellow commuters. (Greeneimer, Larry) In Anger, a person often tends to lose his senses. He loses the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. Also, the rush of adrenaline makes him to commit crime.What turns anger into action is self-control. Watching a movie showing violent acts predisposes us to act violently. Even just listening to violent rhetoric makes people more inclined to be violent. Iron ically, the same mirror neurons that make people empathic make them very vulnerable to all sorts of influences. Indeed, after many years of studies on mirror neurons and their functioning, scientists are shifting their lab research to the study of the control mechanisms in the brain for mirror neurons. The key issue is the balance of power between these control echanisms are called top-down—because they are all like executives that control from the top down to the employees—and bottom-up mechanisms, in the opposite direction, like mirror neurons. This anger could turn into something deadly such as revenge. Revenge can make a person to commit crime. When a person is not able to take revenge by direct means then he adopts indirect and unlawful means to punish his enemy. Peer influence and poor parenting skills are the reasons for easily giving up the path of honesty and truth. Signs that a person is disturbed enough to take action are quite visible.When it does happen, t he people likeliest to commit the crime fall into a drearily predictable group. They're 95% male, and 98% are black or white — not a big surprise since more than 87% of the population is made up of those two races. action itself is a sign, a desperate form of communication from a disturbed individual. Connecting with the subject, that person may have rethought some of the activity of mirror neurons toward a truly empathic behavior, rather than in the service of the deranged imitative violence leading to action. The violence shown in Televisions is also highly responsible in negatively affecting one’s mind.Kids and teenagers generally try to mimic the stunts and the violence acts shown in the TV. The violent games of video games and computer games are very famous among kids and teens. Such games and scenes shatter their innocent brain and are responsible for making them aggressive and violent. Another key note in why people commit murder is due to mental health and past experiences. According to neuropsychologist Jonathan Reed; 49. 4% had a developmental disorder in childhood, 87% had a brain injury, 85% had a history of substance abuse, 45% had a psychiatric history and 35% have had a history of abuse in childhood.Exactly what is going on in their heads can never be known and the neuropsychological factors don’t explain the trigger or situation in which the murder took place. However, it is clear that there are neurological and neurodevelopmental factors going on here, and given what we know about these in childhood and from case studies, it is unclear how much control such individuals have in a given situation. (Reed, Jonathan) So many of these people’s problems seem to stem from experiences and events in their childhoods. People are not criminals by birth.Their circumstances, needs and their upbringing make them criminals. Another big factor that criminals are brought up by is poverty. Poverty is one of the main factors for commit ting a crime. When a person is helpless with no money in hand and a huge family to support then in such cases his circumstances forces him to take up the gun in his hand. There are many terrorist associations that hire such needy people for little money and use them in their criminal acts like murders, bomb explosions, kidnapping etc. Unemployment, which is another cause of poverty, is the main cause of aggression in today’s youth.Lack of job opportunities misleads the youth to take up this direction and earn money in this way. (Shipali, Sharma) The Greed of possessing materialistic things and the intense desire to have a luxurious life by any possible means leads a person to follow this track of crime. It is a human desire to lead his life luxuriously which is sometimes not possible in the little income of a person. (Shipali, Sharma) For this reason some people look up for easy and fast methods of gaining cash and they do not even hesitate to take up the life of some other i nnocent person. It’s greed that completely weighs over their judgment.

Construction Process

INTRODUCTION Construction is a vast process where a lot of obstacles are faced. It can be because of the conditions of the terrain where a construction is on-going or because of the nature of the construction itself which causes the difficulties. So to overcome some of these or most of it there is always surveys done before a construction is started. Therefore a survey is a part of the construction process.And these surveys can be of different types depending on the situation of the construction process for example the surveys done before the start of the construction and at the surveys during the construction and after finishing the construction varies hence the purpose of these surveys as well as the instruments and the procedures for the surveys varies. Since then it is important to know some of the obstacles which we face at the different faces of constructions and how we deal with them to bring a solution to make the process of construction easier and safer.This assignment is a partial fulfilment of the Geomatic Engineering (ECV 3213) coursework, this will cover an explanatory report on how to overcome the obstructions to horizontal distance measurement using tape, permanent tests and adjustments for accuracy in theodolite, digital terrain modelling and verticality check / control for multi-story building works during construction. The report will discuss three examples of obstructions to horizontal distance measurement while using tape and how it is dealt to overcome this or solutions for these obstructions.For the permanent tests and adjustments for accuracy in theodolite, the collimation in azimuth, the spire and plate level tests will be taken as consideration and deliberated. Also more explanations on the remaining two items will be discussed. In the report purpose of the instruments or methods used, the procedures, the advantages and disadvantages, some practical applications with examples will be discussed. Further more relevant illustrations and sk etches will be included.The aim of the assignment is to carry out a literature search and read about the above mentioned four important items in the field of surveying and learn and understand the significance of these for the construction process hence for the surveying. The objective is to give the readers a clear cut Image of the topics and how it is practically applied in the field and provide the readers with relevant and understandable information.