URDG 758, the first revision of the guarantee rules for almost 20 years, was more than an updating of the rules. The rules are the result of an ambitious process to bring into the 21st century rules that are clearer, more precise and more comprehensive.

Breaking new ground

URDG 758 breaks new ground in several respects. They entitle the beneficiary to payment upon presentation of a complying demand without the need to seek the applicant's approval; they express the guarantor’s independent role in exclusively documentary terms; and they allow the supporting statement by the beneficiary indicating that the applicant is in breach to be either in the demand or in a separate signed statement.

In the ICC publication, the new rules are accompanied by a model guarantee and counter-guarantee form and a set of optional clauses at the end of the rules, combining two previously separate ICC publications into a single package.

In June 2011, the Guide to ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees, authored by Georges Affaki and Sir Roy Goode, was published, containing a comprehensive commentary on the rules.

UNCITRAL endorsement

Only a year after the rules came into effect, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) endorsed URDG 758.

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