Bills of Exchange Ordinance

Where a bill drawn in one country is negotiated, accepted, or payable in another,
            the rights, duties, and liabilities of the parties thereto are determined as
follows—
(a)
the validity of a bill, as regards requisites in form, is determined by the
                    law of the place of issue, and the validity, as regards requisites in form, of
                    the supervening contracts, such as acceptance or indorsement or acceptance
                        supr
à
protest, is determined by the law of the place where such contract was
made:
Provided that—
(i)
where a bill is issued out of Hong Kong, it is not invalid by reason
                        only that it is not stamped in accordance with the law of the place of
                        issue;
(ii)
where a bill issued out of Hong Kong conforms, as regards requisites in
                        form, to the law of Hong Kong, it may, for the purpose of enforcing payment
                        thereof, be treated as valid as between all persons who negotiate, hold, or
                        become parties to it in Hong Kong;
(b)
subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, the interpretation of the
                    drawing, indorsement, acceptance, or acceptance
                        supr
à
protest of a bill is determined by the law of the place where such contract is
made:
Provided that where an inland
                    bill is indorsed in a place outside Hong Kong, the indorsement shall, as regards
                    the payer, be interpreted according to the law of Hong Kong;
(Amended
23 of 1998 s. 2
)
(c)
the duties of the holder with respect to presentment for acceptance or payment
                and the necessity for or sufficiency of a protest or notice of dishonour, or
                otherwise, are determined by the law of the place where the act is done or the bill
                is dishonoured;
(d)
where a bill is drawn out of but payable in Hong Kong and the sum payable is
                not expressed in the currency of Hong Kong, the amount, if the bill is paid in Hong
                Kong and in the currency of Hong Kong, shall, in the absence of any express
                stipulation, be calculated according to the rate of exchange for sight drafts in
                Hong Kong on the day on which the bill is actually paid; and
(Replaced
18 of 1921 s. 2
)
(e)
where a bill is drawn in one country and is payable in another, the due date
                thereof is determined according to the law of the place where it is
                payable.
(Amended
60 of 1999 s. 3
)
[cf. 1882 c. 61 s. 72 U.K.]