Some Aspects of Payment by Negotiable Instrument: A Comparative Study

Abstract

The scenes are laid in London, New York, Berlin, and Paris. The plot begins with a debtor's giving his creditor a negotiable instrument in "payment" of the debt. Complications are introduced when the creditor fails to perfect his rights on the instrument, and yet, naturally enough, wishes to collect his debt. Initially both debtor and creditor are satisfied when the negotiable instrument is given in "payment." If it is a time instrument, the debtor has obtained an extension of credit. The creditor, on the other hand, has placed his claim in liquid form; he may realize upon it by discounting the instrument. The Anglo-American, German, and French legal systems, in their own way, attempt to safeguard both the interests of the debtor and the creditor.