THE NEW RULES FOR INTERNATIONAL DEMAND GUARANTEE PRACTICE: URDG 758

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1 Law Society CPD Points applied for THE NEW RULES FOR INTERNATIONAL DEMAND GUARANTEE PRACTICE: URDG 758 Backgrounds : Hundreds of billions of US dollars worth demand guarantees and counter-guarantees are issued all over the world by banks and corporations in support of all types of payment and performance obligations across all sectors of trade and industry, from the sale of goods and equipment, to construction, capital markets, trade, corporate and project finance. Many global banks have reported a surge in the use of demand guarantees in the wake of the financial crisis of as guarantees are (rightly) viewed as cost-effective credit enhancement devices. New Program for URDG758 The dynamics and complexities of demand guarantees and counter-guarantees (the conflict between the expectations of beneficiaries and those of applicants; the expectation that guarantors should adjudicate disputes; etc.) have often resulted in the incurrence of needless costs and expenses, strained relationships and lost business opportunities. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), in an effort to simplify, streamline and improve the understanding and use of demand guarantees, adopted new rules that govern demand guarantee and counter-guarantee practice the Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG), ICC Publication 758. Jointly drafted by bankers, business officers, lawyers, academics and regulators, based on comments and input received from 52 countries, the new rules offer the most reasonable and practical balance between the interests of all parties involved. Compared to the earlier URDG 458, the new rules are clearer, more comprehensive, more precise, more balanced and innovative in many key aspects. The URDG were endorsed by the United Nations, the World Bank, FIDIC bank regulators and lawmakers. For the first time in Asia, the new rules for demand guarantees are brought to you by the Chairman of the drafting group that steered the revision process leading to the adoption of URDG 758. Dr. Georges Affaki will offer in a full-day seminar an in-depth presentation of URDG 758 backed by real life case studies and his multi-jurisdiction experience of international guarantee practice. Highlights : Following an overview of the key principles of international guarantee practice and the highlights of the revision process of the URDG, Dr Affaki will present the new rules focusing on the seven key stages of the life cycle of demand guarantees: 1

2 1. Drafting a demand guarantee and counter-guarantee: a drafting workshop based on an interactive discussion with the participants and a presentation of the new URDG model guarantee and counter-guarantee form. 2. Issuing a demand guarantee and counter-guarantee: when is a guarantee issued? How to separate irrevocable issue from effectiveness? Can demand guarantees be advised? 3. Changes to guarantee terms: variation of amount, extend or pay demands, the transfer process. 4. The presentation of demand process: when, where and how to make a presentation under the new URDG The examination of demand process, including a presentation of the new concept of International Standard Demand Guarantee Practice, the time for examination, and the preclusion sanction. 6. The payment process, including the change of currency, and 7. The expiry process, including dealing with force majeure events. Who should attend? Finance, legal, management, risk and credit departments in banks. Corporations: commercial and contract units, payments and treasury, legal. Lawyers: in-house and external law firms. Banking and monetary regulators. Judges, academics and students. The Speaker : Dr. Georges Affaki is member of the Executive Committee and Head of Structured Finance, CIB Legal, BNP Paribas. He is Vice-Chairman of the Banking Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Chairman of its Section on Law and Compliance, and Chairman of its Task Force on Guarantees. He chaired the drafting group for the revision of the ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG 758). Dr Affaki is Associate Professor of law at the University of Paris II, guest fellow at the University of Oxford and visiting lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, and at University Paris Dauphine. He represents ICC at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group VI Secured Transactions. He is the author or editor of several books, including A User s Handbook to ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees, ICC Publ. No. 631; Trade Finance, ITC Publishing (awarded the European Prize on Interdisciplinary Research); Cross-border insolvency and conflict of jurisdictions, Bruylant, Increasing Access to Credit Reforming Secured Transaction Law, ITC Publishing, The Guide to ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (with Sir Roy Goode), ICC Publ. No. 702, and over 60 articles and case notes on international banking, secured lending and arbitration. He chairs a working group on arbitration and banking organised under the aegis of the French Arbitration Committee and has chaired a Paris Europlace working group on Islamic Finance whose recommendations 2

3 were presented in June 2009 in a report titled Applicable Law and Dispute Resolution in Islamic Finance A French Courts Perspective. The Speaker s approach : Based on an interactive discussion with the participants, Dr Georges Affaki shares throughout the seminar his experience of the revision process leading to URDG 758, revealing the background of each policy choice and drafting decision taken by his group while drafting the rules. He backs his presentation by case studies derived from his 20-year long experience in practising demand guarantees, the laws of jurisdictions in Asia and the Middle-East that he has experienced and cases reported from all over the world to the ICC Task Force on Guarantees that Dr Affaki chairs. Extended Q&A sessions offer the participants the opportunities to raise questions and seek practical advice from the speaker and other participants. LOGISTICAL NOTES : Date : 23 July, 2011 (Saturday) Time : 9:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Venue : Picasso Room, Basement I, InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong, 70 Mody Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Working Language : English with a workbook Registration : Please return the registration form together with a cheque / bank transfer receipt to: Unit 1612, 16/F., Tower II, Grand Central Plaza, 138 Sha Tin Rural Committee Road, Shatin, N. T. HK OR, fax to: Early Bird Discount : Only for registration and payment made on or before 5 July, Registration fee : Registration fees range from HK$3,500 HK$4,000 per person. Fee includes working papers, participation in all sessions, lunch and refreshments served during breaks. For details, please refer to the registration form. Cancellations : Seat Confirmation : There is no refund for cancellation of booking initiated by registrant. However, the registration may be transferred to another person from the same company or organization at no extra charge, subject to the prior consent of ICC-HK. Seat confirmation is based on receipt of payment on a first come, first served basis. Reference Book: ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees URDG 758, listed price $420 Guide to ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees URDG 758, listed price $2100 Enquiry : Ms Christy Li at Tel: or to : publn@icchkcbc.org 3

4 PROGRAMME 9:00-10:40 Key principles in international guarantee practice The revision of the URDG: from 458 to 758 Outline of the program: the seven key stages in the lifecycle of a demand guarantee Stage 1: Drafting the guarantee (also presenting the new URDG 758 model forms) 10:40 11:00 Coffee break 11:00 12:15 Stage 2: Issuing the Guarantee: a step by step approach of the issuance process, also presenting the advice of guarantees Stage 3: Changes to the guarantee terms: variation of amount, amendments and transfers Q&As 12:15 13:30 Lunch 13:30 15:15 Stage 4: The presentation process: when, where and how to make a presentation under the new URDG 758 Stage 5: The examination process, including the new concept of International Standard Demand Guarantee Practice, the time for examination, and the preclusion sanction 15:15 15:30 Coffee Break 15: Stage 6: The payment process, including the change of currency, extend or pay Stage 7: The expiry process, including force majeure Q&As 16:30 17:00 Conclusion of seminar Supporting organisation : Sponsor : 4

5 REGISTRATION FORM Date : 23 July, 2011 (Saturday) Time : 9:00am 5:00pm Venue : Picasso Room, Basement I, InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong Hotel, 70 Mody Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kowloon, HK Medium : English with workbook For registration, please return with cheque to : The Hong Kong Shippers Council Room 2407, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen s Road East, Wanchai, HK. OR, fax to: , OR, to czarina@hkshippers.org.hk Attention : Ms Shum Tel No for enquiry Subject : THE NEW RULES FOR INTERNATIONAL DEMAND GUARANTEE PRACTICE: URDG 758 Name : Mr / Ms (Family name) (First name) Position : Department: Company : Address : Telephone : (Mobile prefer) Fax : E mail : (Please provide the direct address of each participant) Registration : Please tick ( ) the appropriate fee : Fee HK$ 4,000/person (regular) HK$ 3,800/person (early-bird special if register and pay on or before 5 July, 2011) HK$ 3,700/person (ICC-HK members, the HK Shippers Council members) HK$ 3,600/person (early-bird special for ICC-HK & the HK Shippers Council members if register and pay on or before 5 July, 2011) HK$10,500/group (for a group of 3 persons from the same company, HK$3,500 for each extra registrant in the same company if register and pay on or before 5 July, 2011) (please supply the name and address of each participant in the group) Book : 1. HK$360 x copies of ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees URDG 758 Order 2. HK$1800 x copies of Guide to ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees URDG 758 (Only participants can enjoy these special price for book purchase) Total Payment : HK$ (Registration fee and book fee if any) HK Law Society s CPD Points : Required Methods of : By cheque made payable to The Hong Kong Shippers Council Please return this registration form together with the cheque or copy of bank transfer receipt. 5