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Banking and NI · Unit 4

Negotiable Instruments and the Debt Recovery Tribunals

Unit 4 of Law of Banking and Negotiable Instruments (syllabus: Module IV — the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881: instruments and parties, holder and holder in due course, negotiation and endorsement, crossing, and dishonour of cheques under s. 138 with ss. 143A and 148; and recovery of debts through the Debt Recovery Tribunals). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.

What this unit covers

  • When is an instrument a negotiable instrument, and when is it not?
  • Must a promissory note name the payee?
  • What is the status of a post-dated cheque before the date it bears?
  • Who is the holder of a promissory note, and who may give a valid discharge?
  • When is a transferee a holder in due course, and what does it give him?
  • What is a material alteration, and what writing forms part of the instrument?
  • How is a crossed cheque to be paid, and who is protected?
  • What are the ingredients of the offence under section 138, and the three periods?
  • Does the presumption in section 139 extend to a legally enforceable debt, and how is it rebutted?
  • Is a prosecution permissible on a second or successive dishonour?
  • Why is section 143A prospective while section 148 is retrospective?

Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.

Provisions

Leading cases

Full case summaries

Exam questions on this unit

In this paper