Liability on a Cheque: A Legal History

Abstract

Cheques are old payment instruments widely used in various parts of the world. In the United Kingdom, they are governed by the Bills of Exchange Act (hereafter, the BEA or ‘Act’), as supplemented by the Cheques Act. As a rule, statutes in common law countries, and hence, their laws of cheques, are modelled on the BEA, though local variations may exist. A statute modelled on the BEA is in force for example in Israel and South Africa. Both are not pure common law jurisdictions. In Canada, cheques are governed by the federal Bills of Exchange Act, modelled on its English predecessor, which is in force also in the civil law province of Quebec. In Australia, cheques were excluded from the coverage of the Bills of Exchange Act, and are currently governed by a specific Cheques Act.