Contractual prohibitions on assignment of receivables: an English and UN perspective

Abstract

Purpose - To assess the compatibility of the UN Convention's provisions on the validity of anti-assignment clauses with English contract law. Design/methodology/approach - A review of the literature of the assignment of receivables is presented. Analyses and unpicks some of the central, and frequently unarticulated but implicit, policy imperatives that the law is tasked with in balancing the field of the assignment of receivables. Discusses the recurrent theme in the argument about liquidity and cost of credit and the need for the workings of private law to foster the former and lower the latter. Examines the regulation of contractual prohibitions in English law, and the effectiveness of an assignment made notwithstanding an anti-assignment clause under the UN Convention. Compares and contrasts the UN's approach to this matter with English law in order to assess the compatibility of the latter. Findings - It is argued that, in order to facilitate the flow of cross-border credit and access to lower cost credit, anti-assignment clauses should be rendered ineffective and assignments should be given effectiveness notwithstanding contractual prohibitions. Originality/value - Clarifies some of the misunderstandings that have arisen concerning the compatibility of the UN Convention's provisions on the validity of anti-assignment clauses with English law.