Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG 758)

The ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG) reflect international standard practice in the use of demand guarantees and balance the legitimate interests of all parties. More than an update of the existing rules, the revised URDG 758 is a new set of rules for the twenty-first century that has been in effect since the 1st of July 2010.

Since their first adoption in 1991, ICC’s URDG have gained international acceptance and official recognition by bankers, traders, industry associations and international organizations including UNCITRAL, FIDIC and the World Bank. The current edition, URDG 758, was officially endorsed by the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in 2011.

The most significant changes in this edition are :

• New definitions and interpretation rules for greater clarity and precision;
• The treatment of non-documentary conditions, incomplete presentations, and many other contentious practices;
• A comprehensive coverage of advice of guarantees, amendments, electronic documents, transfers and more;
• A provision on force majeure that triggers an extension of a guarantee for thirty calendar days;
• The replacement of “reasonable time” with fixed periods for the examination of demands, the extension of guarantees and the suspension of payments. PLUS – URDG 758 contains :
• A clear layout of the examination process for demands;
• A step-by-step roadmap for handling extend or pay demands;
• A checklist of drafting recommendations;
• Ready-to-use model forms.

Details: 

Table of contents:

1. Foreword
2. Introduction

Article 1 Application of URDG
Article 2 Definitions
Article 3 Interpretation
Article 4 Issue and effectiveness
Article 5 Independence of guarantee and counter-guarantee
Article 6 Documents v. goods, services or performance
Article 7 Non-documentary conditions
Article 8 Content of instructions and guarantees
Article 9 Application not taken up
Article 10 Advising of guarantee or amendment
Article 11 Amendments
Article 12 Extent of guarantor’s liability under guarantee
Article 13 Variation of amount of guarantee
Article 14 Presentation
Article 15 Requirements for demand
Article 16 Information about demand
Article 17 Partial demand and multiple demands; amount of demands
Article 18 Separateness of each demand
Article 19 Examination
Article 20 Time for examination of demand; payment
Article 21 Currency of payment
Article 22 Transmission of copies of complying demand
Article 23 Extend or pay
Article 24 Non-complying demand, waiver and notice
Article 25 Reduction and termination
Article 26 Force majeure
Article 27 Disclaimer on effectiveness of documents
Article 28 Disclaimer on transmission and translation
Article 29 Disclaimer for acts of another party
Article 30 Limits on exemption from liability
Article 31 Indemnity for foreign laws and usages
Article 32 Liability for charges
Article 33 Transfer of guarantee and assignment of proceeds
Article 34 Governing law
Article 35 Jurisdiction

APPENDICES

Form of Demand Guarantee under URDG 758
Optional Clauses
Form of Counter-Guarantee under URDG 758
ICC Task force on Guarantees
DOCDEX

ICC at a Glance
Some ICC Specialized Divisions
Some Product for Global Business

Note: This publication is also available as English-German version (eBook) and (Print version).