Rights on a Bill of Exchange

Abstract

The United Kingdom Bills of Exchange Act 1882 has been described as 'a work of art' and as 'the best drafted Act of Parliament which was ever passed. This style of thinking seems perpetuated in the Report of the Commonwealth Committee (1964) on the Australian Bills of Exchange Act 1909-1958. Apart from a number of recommendations designed to facilitate the handling of cheques, the Committee recommended almost no changes in other provisions of the Act. Despite this satisfaction with present legislation, it is intended in the course of this article to point to inadequacies in the Act which appear to have been responsible for confusion on fundamental questions.