Kulik D. Legal Nature of Settlement Cheque

The work is a comprehensive research in the legal nature of the settlement cheque, mechanisms and spheres of cheque circulation. The research is focused on the legal nature of the settlement cheque as a payment means. It is important that the current civil and bank laws of Ukraine on the legal status of the settlement cheque do not meet the present-day realities. For example, based on the statutory prescriptions of the former USSR the provisions of the bank instructions of Ukraine are outdated and do not satisfy the requirements for the civil circulation of the modern settlement tools. The necessity of improving the current legislation of Ukraine by classifying the settlement cheque to the securities is substantiated. The status of the settlement cheque in the system of payment tools is determined. The differences between the settlement cheque and the promissory note as a very similar payment tool are analyzed. The work describes the dynamics of settlement-cheque relations and the reasons behind their establishing and breaking. The legal elements of the reasons for the relations to be established are a contract of bank account containing the terms of possible payment by the settlement cheques and a unilateral contract to draw and issue the settlement cheque by an issuer for benefit of a cheque holder. As a rule, fulfilling by the bank-payer its obligations to pay out the cheque sum to the cheque holder is a reason behind the end of the cheque legal relations. The research specifies the legal mechanism and stages of the cheque circulation, relations under drawing, issuing, circulating and paying settlement cheques. The recommendations to improve the current banking legislation of Ukraine on regulating cheque relations are made.