ARTICLE 7 Any stipulation concerning interest which may be embodied in the cheque shall be disregarded. ARTICLE 8 A cheque may be payable at the domicile of a third person either in the locality where the drawee has his domicile or in another locality provided always that such third person is a banker. ARTICLE 9 Where the sum payable by a cheque is expressed in words and also in figures, and there is any discrepancy, the sum denoted by the words is the amount payable. Where the sum payable by a cheque is expressed more than once in words or more than once in figures, and there is any discrepancy, the smaller sum is the sum payable. ARTICLE 10 If a cheque bears signatures of persons incapable of binding themselves by a cheque, or forged signatures, or signatures of fictitious persons, or signatures which for any other reason cannot bind the persons who signed the cheque or on whose behalf it was signed, the obligations of the other persons who have signed it are none the less valid. ARTICLE 11 Whosoever puts his signature on a cheque as representing a person for whom he had no power to act is bound himself as a party to the cheque and, if he pays, has the same rights as the person for whom he purported to act. The same rule applies to a representative who has exceeded his powers. ARTICLE 12 The drawer guarantees payment. Any stipulation by which the drawer releases himself from this guarantee shall be disregarded. ARTICLE 13 If a cheque which was incomplete when issued has been completed otherwise than in accordance with the agreements entered into, the non-observance of such agreements may not be set up against the holder unless he has acquired the cheque in bad faith or, in acquiring it, has been guilty of gross negligence. CHAPTER II.-Negotiation ARTICLE 14 A cheque made payable to a specified person, with or without the express clause "to order ", may be transferred by means of endorse ment. A cheque made payable to a specified person, in which the words "not to order" or any equivalent expression have been inserted, can only be transferred according to the form and with the effects of an ordinary assignment. A cheque may be endorsed even to the drawer or to any other party to the cheque. These persons may re-endorse the cheque. ARTICLE 15 An endorsement must be unconditional. Any condition to which it is made subject shall be disregarded. A partial endorsement is null and void. An endorsement by the drawee is also null and void. An endorsement "to bearer" is equivalent to an endorsement in blank. An endorsement to the drawee has the effect only of a receipt, except in the case where the drawee has several establishments and the endorsement is made in favour of an establishment other than that on which the cheque has been drawn. ARTICLE 16 An endorsement must be written on the cheque or on a slip affixed thereto (allonge). It must be signed by the endorser. The endorsement may leave the beneficiary unspecified or may consist simply of the signature of the endorser (endorsement in blank). In the latter case the endorsement, to be valid, must be written on the back of the cheque or on the slip attached thereto (allonge). ARTICLE 17 An endorsement transfers all the rights arising out of a cheque. If the endorsement is in blank, the holder may: (1) fill up the blank either with his own name or with the name of some other person; (2) re-endorse the cheque in blank or to some other person; (3) transfer the cheque to a third person without filling up the blank and without endorsing it. ARTICLE 18 In the absence of any contrary stipulation, the endorser guarantees payment. He may prohibit any further endorsement; in this case he gives no guarantee to the persons to whom the cheque is subsequently endorsed. ARTICLE 19 The possessor of an endorsable cheque is deemed to be the lawful holder if he establishes his title to the cheque through an uninterrupted series of endorsements, even if the last endorsement is in blank. In this connection cancelled endorsements shall be disregarded. When an endorsement in blank is followed by another endorsement, the person who signed this last endorsement is deemed to have acquired the cheque by the endorsement in blank. ARTICLE 20 An endorsement on a cheque to bearer renders the endorser liable in accordance with the provisions governing the right of recourse; but it does not convert the instrument into a cheque to order. ARTICLE 21 Where a person has, in any manner whatsoever, been dispossessed of a cheque (whether it is a cheque to bearer or an endorsable cheque to which the holder establishes his right in the manner mentioned in Article 19), the holder into whose possession the cheque has come is not bound to give up the cheque unless he has acquired it in bad faith or unless in acquiring it he has been guilty of gross negligence. ARTICLE 22 Persons sued on a cheque cannot set up against the holder defences founded on their personal relations with the drawer or with previous holders, unless the holder in acquiring the cheque has knowingly acted to the detriment of the debtor. ARTICLE 23 When an endorsement contains the statement "value in collection " ("valeur en recouvrement "), "for collection" ("pour encaissement"), "by procuration " (" par procuration"), or any other phrase implying a simple mandate, the holder may exercise all rights arising out of the cheque, but he can endorse it only in his capacity as agent. In this case the parties liable can only set up against the holder defences which could be set up against the endorser. The mandate contained in an endorsement by procuration does not terminate by reason of the death of the party giving the mandate or by reason of his becoming legally incapable. ARTICLE 24 An endorsement after protest or after an equivalent declaration or after the expiration of the limit of time for presentment operates only as an ordinary assignment. Failing proof to the contrary, an undated endorsement is deemed to have been placed on the cheque prior to the protest or equivalent declaration or prior to the expiration of the limit of time referred to in the preceding paragraph. CHAPTER III.—“Avals" ARTICLE 25 Payment of a cheque may be guaranteed by an "aval" as to the whole or part of its amount. This guarantee may be given by a third person other than the drawee, or even by a person who has signed the cheque. ARTICLE 26 An "aval" is given either on the cheque itself or on an "allonge". It is expressed by the words "good as aval", or by any other equivalent formula. It is signed by the giver of the “aval”. It is deemed to be constituted by the mere signature of the giver of the "aval ", placed on the face of the cheque, except in the case of the signature of the drawer. An "aval" must specify for whose account it is given. In default of this, it is deemed to be given for the drawer. ARTICLE 27 The giver of an "aval" is bound in the same manner as the person for whom he has become guarantor. His undertaking is valid even when the liability which he has guaranteed is inoperative for any reason other than defect of form. He has, when he pays the cheque, the rights arising out of the cheque against the person guaranteed and against those who are liable to the latter on the cheque. CHAPTER IV.-Presentment and Payment ARTICLE 28 A cheque is payable at sight. Any contrary stipulation shall be disregarded. A cheque presented for payment before the date stated as the date of issue is payable on the day of presentment. ARTICLE 29 A cheque payable in the country in which it was issued must be presented for payment within eight days. A cheque issued in a country other than that in which it is payable must be presented within a period of twenty days or of seventy days, according as to whether the place of issue and the place of payment are situated respectively in the same continent or in different continents. For the purposes of this article cheques issued in a European country and payable in a country bordering on the Mediterranean or vice versa are regarded as issued and payable in the same continent. The date from which the above-mentioned periods of time shall begin to run shall be the date stated on the cheque as the date of issue. ARTICLE 30 Where a cheque is drawn in one place and is payable in another having a different calendar, the day of issue shall be construed as being the corresponding day of the calendar of the place of payment. ARTICLE 31 Presentment of a cheque at a clearing house is equivalent to presentment for payment. ARTICLE 32 The countermand of a cheque only takes effect after the expiration of the limit of time for presentment. If a cheque has not been countermanded, the drawee may pay it even after the expiration of the time limit. ARTICLE 33 Neither the death of the drawer nor his incapacity taking place after the issue of the cheque shall have any effect as regards the cheque. ARTICLE 34 The drawee who pays a cheque may require that it shall be given up to him receipted by the holder. The holder may not refuse partial payment. In case of partial payment the drawee may require that the partial payment shall be mentioned on the cheque and that a receipt shall be given to him. |