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1 URDG 758 The URDG 758 are the Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees ‐ effective 01 July 2010. Foreword This revision of ICC's Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG) is the first since the rules were developed by ICC in 1991. The original rules, URDG 458, gained broad international acceptance in recent years following their incorporation by the World Bank in its guarantee forms and their endorsement by UNCITRAL and leading industry associations, such as FIDIC. This first revision of the rules was meticulously prepared over a period of two and a half years, and is the result of a collective effort by a number of ICC constituent groups. It was developed as a joint project by two ICC commissions ‐ the Banking Commission and the Commission on Commercial Law and Practice ‐ therefore taking into account the legitimate expectations of all relevant sectors. ICC national committees contributed substantially to the final product: some 52 national committees submitted several hundred pages of valuable suggestions on successive drafts, a number of which were incorporated into the final text. The ICC Task Force on Guarantees, which consisted of 40 members from 26 countries, reviewed the various drafts and added their own suggestions. The URDG Drafting Group, ably chaired by Dr Georges Affaki, met on a number of occasions, carefully reviewed all comments submitted by national committees and the Task Force and developed the final draft. This collective effort has borne fruit; it has produced rules that reflect a broad consensus among bankers, users and all members of the guarantee community. In fact, the present revision of the URDG does not merely update the existing rules. It is the result of an ambitious project to create a new set of rules for the twenty‐first century that is clearer, more precise and more comprehensive. As such, URDG 758 is destined to become the standard text for demand guarantees worldwide. Jean Rozwadowski Secretary General International Chamber of Commerce January 2010 2 Introduction The new URDG 758 succeed URDG 458. Over 17 years of practice (1992 ‐ 2009), URDG 458 proved to be both successful and reliable. They were used by banks and businesses across continents and industry sectors. URDG 458 were endorsed by international organizations, multilateral financial institutions, bank regulators, lawmakers and professional federations. In contrast to the failed Uniform Rules for Contract Guarantees (URCG 325), URDG 458 reflected the reality of the international demand guarantee market and struck the most reasonable balance between the interests of all the parties involved. By choosing to instruct a guarantor to issue a demand guarantee subject to URDG, applicants renounced their ability to obstruct payment for reasons derived from their relationship with the beneficiary. In turn, beneficiaries were expected to state in general terms ‐ but not to justify, establish or prove ‐ the nature of the applicant's breach in the performance of the underlying relationship. Finally, because a demand guarantee is an independent undertaking, guarantors were assured that their commitment was subject to its own terms. They were insulated from the performance contingencies of the underlying relationship. Their incremental use, backed by the support of ICC, enabled URDG 458 to make a critical contribution towards levelling the playing field among demand guarantee issuers and users regardless of the legal, economic or social system in which they operate. Yet, URDG 458 formed the first attempt by ICC to codify independent guarantee practice. Over the years, the application of their provisions shed light on the need for drafting adjustments, clarifications, expansion of scope or clear corrections of the adopted standard. Views reported to the ICC Task Force on Guarantees from URDG users worldwide provided the necessary material to launch a revision of URDG 458 that both the lapse of time and the evolution of practice made necessary. The revision was launched in 2007 and was conducted under the aegis of both the ICC Banking Commission and the Commission on Commercial Law and Practice (CLP). The ICC Task Force on Guarantees, the standing expert body created by ICC in 2003 to monitor international guarantee practice, acted as a consultative body to a Drafting Group that produced five comprehensive drafts during the two and a half year revision process. Each draft was submitted for review and comments to ICC national committees. Over 600 sets of comments were received from a total of 52 countries and were thoroughly examined. These comments were instrumental in shaping the new rules. Regular progress reports were presented to meetings of each of the ICC commissions considering the rules and were comprehensively debated. This method ensured that the revision takes into account views received from a broad cross‐sector of concerned parties. The resulting URDG 758 were adopted by the ICC Executive Board on