Return of the Letter of Guarantee - Waiver of the Beneficiary's Rights?^*)*)Paper read at the 3^rd Global Conference on Bank Guarantees, May 26 in Vienna.

Twice in recent years the Austrian Supreme Court has dealt with cases concerning the return of the original guarantee document to the issuing bank. In both cases, the question arose whether the return of the letter of guarantee was sufficient to lead to a termination of the right of the beneficiary to demand payment. The paper analyses the relevant Articles of the ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees and the UN-Convention on Independent Guarantees and Stand-by Letters of Credit as well as the decisions of the Supreme Court.