Byles on Bills of Exchange and Cheques

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Description
In the preface to the 29th Edition, the editors speculated that that edition might be the last. In an age of cryptocurrency and contactless payments, paper bills, and cheques really are the technology of another time. Yet cheques in particular are still used in substantial, if diminishing, numbers in the UK, and regular proposals for their phasing out have come and gone. Instead there has been reform of the clearing system, with presentment now achieved by electronic imaging in the most significant statutory change addressed in this volume. Bills, notes, and cheques are still used internationally, and while we have not attempted comprehensively to address the state of the law in other common-law jurisdictions, we have made reference, for example, to illuminating decisions from Singapore and a contrasting position in Canada. This book, first published in 1829 and still in hardback format, is itself from another age. It pre-dates photography, the electric telegraph and sound recording, let alone the codifying Act of 1882, or modern (even now perhaps archaically described) "electronic funds transfer". Its age, indeed antiquity, is evident in the structure and often the language. That lends the book much of its charm, and much of its authority, though it makes it a challenging task to edit. In keeping with previous editions, we have taken a light touch where we could. Like the conservation of a listed building, the layout may not be ideal for modern life, and the material harder to work with, but we have not seen it as our place to raze to the ground and new-build on the plot. Passages which have stood for nearer two centuries than one, and discussions of authorities from a former age still yield instructive principles or have their own weight too valuable to discard. We have attempted to update to reflect other developments in the law, and to indicate where propositions may stand to be revisited in light of modern conditions. The resulting abrupt changes in tone or imbalance in the content are, like uneven tiles or sagging windows, the price of keeping the character of the property.
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Table of Contents
Part One
1. Overview of Bills of Exchange
2. Forms of Bills and Notes
3.Payee and Drawee
4. Inchoate Instruments
5. bills in an International Context 
6. Capacity
7. Liability on a Bill
8. Transfer and Negotiation
9. Modes and Requisites of Transfer
10. Acceptance
11. resentment for acceptance
12. Presentment for Payment
13. Discharge: 1
14. Discharge: 2
15. Dishonour: 1
16. Dishonour: 2
17. Liabilities of Parties
18. Rights of Parties
19. Consideration
20. Alternation and Forgery
Part Two
21. The Cheque: 1
22. The Cheque: 2
23. The Cheque: 3
Par Three
24. The Promissory Notes
Part Four
25. Conflict of Laws
Part Five
26. Procedure: 1
27. Procedure: 2
28. Damages, Interest and Costs
29. Limitations of Actions
Part Six
30. Lost bills and notes
31. Bills or notes as Payment
32. Payment made under a mistake
33. The Law of principal and Surety in its applicable to bills and notes
34. Insolvency of Companies
Index
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Author Details
Jonathan mark Phillips
Richard Hanke
Ian Higgins