Uniform Law On Bills Of Exchange

Summary of Uniform Law On Bills Of Exchange

A product of the 1932 Geneva Convention on Bills of Exchange. The object of the act was to standardize various national laws and usages relative to bills of exchange, thereby overcoming an impediment to rade. The act specifies that a bill of exchange must contain:

1. The term bill of exchange inserted in the body of ~he instrument and expressed in the language employed in drawing up the instrument;

2. An unconditional order to pay a determinate sum of money;

3. The name of the person who is to pay (payee);

4. A statement of the time of payment;

5. A statement of the place where payment is to be made;

6. The name of the person to whose order payment is to be made;

7. A statement of the date and of the place where the bill is issued;

8. The signature of the person who issues the billi drawer).

Adherents to the Geneva convention include: Austria Japan

Belgium Luxembourg

Brazil Monaco

Denmark Netherlands

Finland Norway

France Poland

Germany* Sweden

Greece Switzerland

Hungary USSR

Italy

In addition to the full adherents, various other countries have signed the convention with reservations or have adopted provisions of the act into their national laws. [*Since the division of Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany has continued adherence to the agreement.]

(Main Author: William J. Miller)