Legislative part

Any bill of exchange, even if not expressly drawn to order, is transferable by way of endorsement. Where the drawer has inserted in the bill of exchange the words “not to order” or an equivalent expression, the instrument is transferable only in the form and with the effects of an ordinary assignment. Endorsement may be made even in favour of the drawee, whether acceptor or not, the drawer or any…

I. – The endorsement transmits all the rights resulting from the bill of exchange. II. – If the endorsement is in blank, the bearer may: 1° Fill in the blank, either with his name or with the name of another person; 2° Endorse the bill again in blank or to another person; 3° Give the bill to a third party, without filling in the blank and without endorsing it.

The endorser is, unless otherwise agreed, guarantor of acceptance and payment. He may prohibit further endorsement. In this case, he is not obliged to guarantee against persons to whom the letter is subsequently endorsed.

The holder of a bill of exchange is considered a legitimate bearer if he proves his right by an uninterrupted series of endorsements, even if the last endorsement is blank. Crossed-out endorsements are deemed to be unwritten. When a blank endorsement is followed by another endorsement, the signatory of the latter is deemed to have acquired the bill by the blank endorsement. If a person has been dispossessed of a…

Persons sued under the bill of exchange may not raise against the bearer defences based on their personal relationships with the drawer or with previous bearers, unless the bearer, in acquiring the bill, has acted knowingly to the detriment of the debtor.

Where the endorsement contains the words “valeur en recouvrement”, “pour encaissement”, “par procuration”, or any other wording implying a simple mandate, the bearer may exercise all the rights deriving from the bill of exchange, but may only endorse it by way of power of attorney. The obligees may, in this case, raise against the bearer only those defences which would be enforceable against the endorser. The mandate contained in an…

Endorsement after the due date produces the same effects as an earlier endorsement. However, an endorsement subsequent to the protest for want of payment, or made after the expiry of the period fixed for drawing up the protest, produces only the effects of an ordinary assignment. Unless proved otherwise, an undated endorsement is deemed to have been made before the expiry of the period fixed for drawing up the protest….