THE CUBA REVIEW 21 



tion of any bank or causes them to circulate shall be punished with the penalty of major 

 imprisonment. 



On the Check 



149. A check is a document which contains an order to pay, given to the bank, 

 pursuant to which the drawer withdraws in his own benefit or in benefit of a third 

 person, the whole or a part of the funds which he has on deposit with the banking 

 institution. 



150. Every check shall contain the following requisites: (1) the specific name 

 of check; (2) the place and date of its issue; (3) the name and domicil of the bank 

 on which it is drawn and which should pay it; (4) the fact that the bank should pay 

 the same to bearer or to the order of a specified person or corporation; (5) the amount 

 that is ordered to be paid given in words and in figures; and (6) the signature of 

 the drawer. The omission of any of these requisites will give the bank the right to 

 refuse to pay the check as imperfect, and the drawer shall be held responsible for 

 its amount. 



152*. The check is transferable by endorsement and may be delivered to a third 

 party for collection. 



153. The drawer of a check is obliged to have made provision of funds at the 

 bank in advance. The act of drawing a check without having sufficient funds in 

 the possession of the drawee, except in the case of an error in the drawer's account, 

 constitutes a case of fraud under paragraph 1st, of Article 559 of the Penal Code, 

 punishable according to the amount of the damage and in accordance with w^hat is 

 provided in Article 558 of the same legal text. In order to proceed criminally against 

 the drawer it is necessary to make demand for payment through a notary twenty-four 

 hours before commencing said action. 



154. A check may be drawn at the same place where it is to be paid or at a 

 different place, and the holder should present it to the bank for collection within ten 

 days following the date of its issue if it is drawn on the same place, and fifteen days 

 if drawn on another place. 



155. If the holder allows said time to elapse and the bank suspends payments 

 or goes into liquidation, he shall lose all right of action against the drawer and endorses, 

 if it is proved that the drawer had funds on hands during all of that time. 



156. The period of ten days referred to in the preceding section for orders to 

 pay on demand drawn on the same place, shall be considered extended to 30 days 

 for those drawn upon foreign countries. 



157. A check should be fully paid by the bank, without delay, immediately upon 

 presentation, and every stipulation to the contrary shall be considered void. The 

 person to whom the same is paid shall sign on the back of the document as evidence 

 of having received the amount of the same. 



158. The failure to pay a check shall be proved through a protest and the holder 

 of the instrument who has made presentation of the same within the time pro\'ided 

 by law shall have an action, in executory proceedings, to be paid the amount of the same, 

 not only against the bank, but also against the endorser and the drawer. 



159. The bank that has on hand funds of the drawer shall have the right to refuse 

 to pay the check, without incurring in liability, not only when the document has been 

 fraudulently altered or is imperfect, according as has been stated in section 150, but 

 also when it receives a signed written order of the drawer not to pay, on account of 

 an error incurred, and the amount shall be retained by the bank until the outcome 

 of the judicial action that may be instituted. In this case the holder of the instrument 

 may direct his action against the drawer and against the endorsers to recover the 

 amount of the same. 



160. Every bank that has sufficient funds on hand to pay a check shall be 

 obliged, when requested to do so by the holder thereof, to certify by means of a 



(*) This section has by error been numbered 152, the proper numlicr lieinu 151. 



