Organization of American States Multilateral Treaties

INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON CONFLICT OF LAWS CONCERNING CHECKS

The Governments of the Member States of the Organization of American States,

BEARING IN MIND the Inter-American Convention on Conflict of Laws con-cerning Bills of Exchange, Promissory Notes and Invoices adopted on this same date, have agreed as follows:

Article 1

The provisions of the Inter-American Convention on Conflict of Laws concerning Bills of Exchange, Promissory Notes, and Invoices shall apply to checks, subject to the following modifications:

The law of the State Party in which a check is payable shall determine:

a. The time-limit for presentation;

b. Whether a check can be accepted, crossed, certified or confirmed, and the effects of such acts;

c. The rights of the holder with regard to the provision of funds and the nature of such rights;

d. The rights of the drawer to revoke the check or oppose payment;

e. The necessity of protest or of other equivalent acts for the preservation of rights against the endorsers, the drawer, or other obligated parties; and

f. Such other matters as relate to the form of the check.

Article 2

This Convention shall be open for signature by the Member States of the Organization of American States.

Article 3

This Convention is subject to ratification. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States.

Article 4

This Convention shall remain open for accession by any other State. The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States.

Article 5

This Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the date of deposit of the second instrument of ratification.

For each State ratifying or acceding to the Convention after the deposit of the second instrument of ratification, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after deposit by such State of its instrument of ratification or accession.

Article 6

If a State Party has two or more territorial units in which different systems of law apply in relation to the matters dealt with in this Convention, it may, at the time of signature, ratification or accession, declare that this Convention shall extend to all its territorial units or only to one or more of them.

Such declaration may be modified by subsequent declarations, which shall expressly indicate the territorial unit or units to which the Convention applies. Such subsequent declarations shall be transmitted to the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States, and shall become effective thirty days after the date of their receipt.

Article 7

This Convention shall remain in force indefinitely, but any of the States Parties may denounce it. The instrument of denunciation shall be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States. After one year from the date of deposit of the instrument of denunciation, the Convention shall no longer be in effect for the denouncing State, but shall remain in effect for the other States Parties.

Article 8

The original instrument of this Convention, the English, French, Portuguese and Spanish texts of which are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States. The Secretariat shall notify the Member States of the Organization of American States and the States that have acceded to the Convention of the signatures, deposits of instruments of ratification, accession, and denunciation as well as of reservations, if any. It shall also transmit the declarations referred to in Article 6 of this Convention.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, being duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Convention.

DONE AT PANAMA CITY, Republic of Panama, this thirtieth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and seventy-five.