Negotiable Instruments Law

Bills are widely used in international trade. Therefore, the law of negotiable instruments has become an important part of international commercial law.

The law of negotiable instruments is the sum of legal norms regulating the occurrence, pfer and exercise of negotiable instruments.

There are great differences between the bill law of the world in terms of compilation style and content. They are divided into French legal system, German legal system and English legal system, which is extremely unfavorable for the circulation of international circulation of bills and the development of international trade.

After World War I, in the early 30s, in Geneva, with the support of the League of nations, six Geneva conventions on the unification of bills of exchange, promissory notes and cheques were adopted.

Now most European countries and Japan and Latin America have adopted these conventions, while Anglo American countries have refused or accepted them.

At present, there are mainly differences between the uniform bills law of the Geneva Convention and the bill law of the Anglo American law system in western countries.

(1) overview

1. the concept and legal characteristics of negotiable instruments

A negotiable instrument is a negotiable instrument signed by a drawer on the face of the bill, which agrees to pay the amount paid by the drawee or the holder in accordance with the conditions specified in the notes at the time of the ticket or on the appointed date.

It includes a promissory note for which a certain amount of money is paid, and a draft and cheque which entrusts others to pay unconditionally for a certain amount.

The bill has the following legal characteristics:

(1) negotiable instruments are fully negotiable securities.

The right of a negotiable instrument is not separable from the bill itself.

(2) negotiable instruments are authorized securities.

The right to a negotiable instrument must take place as a security, but the formation of a bill does not prove that its rights exist, and the rights on its bills are entirely created by the act of bills.

(3) negotiable instruments are negotiable securities.

The making of bills must conform to the statutory requirements, otherwise the validity of bills will not arise.

(4) negotiable instruments are literal securities.

It means that the rights and obligations on the negotiable instruments must be determined only according to the documents and symbols in the notes.

(5) negotiable instruments are negotiable securities.

The right of a bill is established if it meets the statutory conditions.

As to how the bill acts, how does the holder obtain the instrument, there is no need to ask.

(6) negotiable instruments are negotiable securities.

It means that negotiable instruments can also be used as negotiable securities in addition to their functions as exchange instruments, payment tools and credit instruments.

That is, negotiable instruments can be freely pferred by way of delivery or endorsement, and the method is quick and simple.

2. draft, cashier's check and cheque.

The types of bills are not consistent with each country's legal provisions.

For example, Germany and France consider bills only include bills of exchange and promissory notes, not including cheques.

Generally speaking, international negotiable instruments should include bills of exchange, promissory notes and cheque.

(1) draft.

The bill of exchange is issued by the drawee's signature, requiring the drawee (Fu Kuanren) to make an unconditional written payment order to the receiver or the instructions of a specific person or to the holder of the bill without paying any amount of money at the time of the ticket or on the specified date or within the time to be determined.

(2) promissory note.

It is also known as a promissory note. It is an unconditional written proof that the drawer pays a certain amount of money to the payee or his nominee or bearer at the time of the ticket or on a certain date.

(3) cheque.

A cheque is a written proof issued by the drawer that the bank is required to pay a certain amount to the payee or the holder without paying the bill.

In Britain, a cheque is a sight draft payable on a bank basis.

Promissory notes and bills of exchange have many things in common. The provisions of the bill of exchange relating to issuing tickets, endorsement, payment, refusal of certificates and recourse are basically applicable to promissory notes.

The difference between the two is mainly two dot: (1) there are three parties to the bill, that is, the drawer, the drawee and the payee; and the promissory note has only two parties, that is, the drawer (and also the drawee) and the payee.

(2) the bill must be accepted to make the acceptor (the drawee) in the status of the principal debtor, while the drawer is in the status of the debtor; the drawer of the promissory note is always in the principal debtor's status, and has the obligation to pay the debt at maturity, so it does not need to go through the acceptance procedure.

Like a cheque, a cheque has three parties, the drawer, the drawee and the payee.

The differences between the two are as follows: (1) the drawee of the cheque is limited to the bank; and the drawee of the bill of exchange is not limited to the bank.

2. The cheque is payable on demand and the draft is not limited to sight.

(two) the act of negotiable instruments and the exercise of the rights of negotiable instruments.

If the rights and obligations of a negotiable instrument are to be realized, the bearer must request the debtor of the bill to perform the obligation of the bill for the exercise of his rights; for the debtor of the bill, he acts in order to bear the debt on the instrument, that is, the act of the negotiable instrument.

These acts constitute the whole process of the occurrence, pfer and exercise of the bill. In the three bills, the draft reflects the whole process of behavior, and most countries adopt the draft as the center.

The following is a brief introduction to the above acts and related laws and regulations.

1. draft of bills of exchange.

The bill of drawee refers to the act of the drawee delivering the bill to the payee after making the draft in a legal style.

This is the basic act of bills to generate negotiable instruments.

As a draft is a negotiable instrument, making a draft must conform to the legal style.

In accordance with the laws of other countries, the draft must record the following items: (1) the bill should have the words of the draft.

This is the provisions of the Geneva convention, while the Anglo American law system does not require such a requirement; second, it must be an unconditional payment order; third, the name of the drawee must be specified; and the payee must be specified.

This is the stipulation of the Geneva convention, and the Anglo American law holds that no matter all bills of exchange are held by the holder of the bill, it is effective; and the date and date of the bill of exchange are dot.

Countries in Anglo American law do not think this is a necessary matter; the date of payment and the place of payment dot.

Although the Geneva convention has this provision, it allows exceptions; the Anglo American law does not regard it as a statutory condition;

2. endorsement of bills of exchange.

Endorsement of a bill means the act of a bearer to sign a bill on the back of the bill and pfer it to the assignee.

Endorsement is endorsed by endorsement and endorsement in blank or blank endorsement, which is based on whether the endorser is endorsed. Now all countries admit that the two endorsements are effective.

In accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention and many national bills law, the holder of a bill of exchange should prove the establishment of the right by the continuity of the endorsement.

The continuation of an endorsement means that the person who endorses the bill for the first time should be the payee of the bill, and the endorser after each endorsement shall be the endorser endorsed in advance, successively until the last holder.

3. a reminder of the draft.

A hint is a behavior of a bearer to produce a bill of exchange to the drawee for payment or acceptance, which is the act that the holder must exercise in order to exercise and maintain the rights of his bill.

Both acceptance and payment must be carried out within the statutory time limit.

The Geneva convention stipulates that a draft payable at regular intervals after sight shall be accepted as a reminder within one year from the date of issue, and the draft payable at sight shall be made within 1 years from the date of issue, unless the drawer or endorser has a special agreement.

Anglo American law only requires prompt in "reasonable time".

4. acceptance of bills of exchange.

This means that the drawee agrees to undertake the obligation to pay the amount of the draft after the acceptance of the presentation by the drawee.

In the form of acceptance, the drawee usually writes "acceptance" on the front side of the draft and signs the date of acceptance.

The Geneva convention stipulates that in addition to the signature of the acceptor, the acceptance must record "acceptance" or other equivalent words on the bill of exchange. The date of acceptance must also be specified for certain bills of exchange.

5. guarantee for a bill of exchange.

It refers to the act of the third party other than the debtor of the bill for the purpose or part of the obligations of the security instrument.

The Geneva Convention on the unification of negotiable instruments guarantees the guarantee of negotiable instruments in a more detailed way.

The guarantee of a bill of exchange is an act of necessity and independence, and the guarantor of a bill of exchange can not enjoy the right of first pleading.

6. payment of bills of exchange.

The drawee of a bill of exchange refers to the drawee or payee paying the amount of the bill at the maturity date of the bill to eliminate the relationship between the negotiable instruments.

The Geneva convention stipulates that the payer needs to prove the continuity of endorsement of the bill and has no obligation to prove the authenticity of the signature. Therefore, the payer's legal consideration of the continuity of the endorsement and his payment of the bill is legally relieved of his obligation to the bill.

7. the right of recourse for a bill of exchange.

The right of recourse refers to the right of a bearer to claim the amount of money on the bill of exchange when it is rejected (refusing to accept and refusing to pay) and is entitled to the forward endorser and the drawer of the bill of exchange.

The right of recourse and the right to make payment constitute the basic rights of the holder at the same time.

When exercising the right of recourse, the bearer shall have the following conditions: (1) the bill has been refused payment; (2) a notice of acceptance or payment has been made to the drawee within the statutory time limit; third, a refusal certificate must be made within the statutory period after payment has been refused.

A certificate of rejection is a written document made by a notary or other authority in the place of payment to prove that the drawee refuses to pay.

The British bill law is particularly strict about this requirement.