Legal Arrangements for the Transfer of Receivables Collection Rights Through Collection Trust Deeds in the International Trade System

Abstract

The Collection Trust Deed (CTD) is a contractual instrument widely used in international trade for the assignment of receivables, particularly by foreign export credit insurers such as Sinosure, NEXI, and the U.S. EXIM Bank. CTD originates from the common law tradition of equitable assignment and combines the concepts of trust and assignment of claims. However, the Indonesian civil law system only recognises cessie (Article 613 of the Indonesian Civil Code) and lastgeving (Article 1792), neither of which fully accommodates the hybrid character of CTD. This study aims to analyse the legal regulation of receivables assignment through CTD in the international trading system. Using a normative legal research method with statute, conceptual, and comparative approaches, this study examines primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials, including the UNCITRAL Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade 2001 and the UNIDROIT Principles 2016. The results show that CTD is internationally recognised as a sui generis contract grounded in the principle of freedom of contract, with its regulatory architecture composed of three layers: international instruments (UNCITRAL and UNIDROIT), the lex causae chosen by the parties, and the lex fori of the jurisdiction where enforcement occurs. In Indonesia, CTD can be qualified as a sui generis agreement combining elements of cessie and lastgeving, valid under Article 1338 of the Indonesian Civil Code as long as it does not contravene public order. The implication of this study is the need for national legal reform to accommodate modern contractual instruments in cross-border trade.