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| Long title | An Act to codify the law relating to Bills of Exchange, Cheques, and Promissory Notes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 45 & 46 Vict. 61 |
| Introduced by | Sir Mackenzie Chalmers |
| Dates | |
| Commencement | 18 August 1882 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The Bills of Exchange Act 1882 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament concerning bills of exchange. The Act was drafted by Sir Mackenzie Chalmers, who later drafted the Sale of Goods Act 1893 and the Marine Insurance Act 1906.
Bills of exchange are widely used to finance trade and, when discounted with a financial institution, to obtain credit.
The formal legal definition of a bill of exchange is as follows:
An unconditional order in writing addressed by one person to another, signed by the person giving it, requiring the person to whom it is addressed to pay on demand or at a fixed or determinable future time a sum certain in money to order or to bearer.[1]
Expressing this in less formal language, it is a written order from one party (the drawer) to another (the drawee) to pay a specified sum on demand or on a specified date to the drawer or to a third party specified by the drawer.