1896de Book2 Chapter07 Title22

GERMAN CIVIL CODE OF 1896

• Based on the English Translation by: Wang, Chung Hui (1907). The German Civil Code, translated and annotated with historical introduction and appendices. London: Stevens and Sons. [available on Archive.org]

BOOK II. Law of Obligations.

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Chapter VII. Particular Kinds of Obligations.

Title XXII. Obligations to Bearer.

Section 793.

• [I] If a person has issued an instrument in which he promises to perform an act in favour of the bearer of the instrument (i.e., an obligation to bearer), the bearer may require him to effect the promised performance, unless he is not entitled to dispose of the instrument. The maker is, however, released from his obligation by performing in favour of a bearer, even though the latter is not entitled to dispose of the instrument.
• [II] The validity of the signature may, by a provision contained in the instrument, be made subject to the observance of a particular form. For the signature a subscription made by means of mechanical reproduction is sufficient.

Section 794.

• [I] The maker is bound by an obligation to bearer even if it has been stolen from him, or lost by him, or has otherwise passed into circulation without his consent.
• [II] The validity of an obligation to bearer is not affected by the fact that the instrument is issued after the maker has died or has become incapable of disposing.

Section 795.

• [I] Obligations to bearer issued within the Empire in which the payment of a certain sum of money is promised may be put in circulation only with the ratification of the Government.
• [II] The ratification is given by the central authority of the State in whose territory the maker has his domicile or his industrial location. The giving of the ratification and the conditions under which it is given shall be published in the Deutscher Reichsanzeiger.
• [III] An obligation which has passed into circulation without the ratification of the Government is void; the maker shall compensate the bearer for any damage caused by its issue.
• [IV] These provisions do not apply to obligations which are issued by the Empire or by a State.

Section 796.

• The maker may set up against the bearer of the obligation only the defences which affect the validity of the issue, or appear from the instrument itself, or which the maker has directly against the bearer.

Section 797.

• The maker is bound to perform only upon delivery of the instrument. Upon delivery he acquires ownership of the instrument, even if the bearer is not entitled to dispose of it.

Section 798.

• If an obligation to bearer is no longer fit for circulation in consequence of damage or defacement, the bearer may, where its essential contents and its distinctive marks are still recognisable with certainty, require the maker to issue a new obligation to bearer on delivery of the damaged or defaced one. The bearer shall bear and advance the costs.

Section 799.

• [I] A lost or destroyed obligation to bearer may, unless the contrary is provided for in the instrument, be declared void by means of the procedure by public summons. Interest coupons, annuity coupons, dividend coupons, and non-interest bearing obligations payable at sight are excepted.
• [II] The maker is bound to give to the former bearer on demand all information necessary for the public summons or for stoppage of payment, and to issue the necessary certificates. The former bearer shall bear and advance the costs of the certificates.

Section 800.

• If an obligation to bearer has been declared void, the person who has obtained the decree for avoidance may, without prejudice to his right to enforce the claim arising from the instrument, require the maker to issue a new obligation to bearer in place of the one declared void. The person who requires the issue of the new obligation shall bear and advance the costs.

Section 801.

• [I] Any claim arising from an obligation to bearer is extinguished on the expiration of thirty years after the arrival of the time fixed for performance, unless the instrument is presented to the maker for redemption before the expiration of the thirty years. If the presentation is made the claim is barred by prescription in two years from the expiration of the term for presentation. The enforcement in court of the claim arising from the instrument is equivalent to presentation.
• [II] In the case of interest coupons, annuity coupons, and dividend coupons, the term for presentation is four years. The term begins to run from the expiration of the year in which the time fixed for performance arrives.
• [III] The duration and beginning of the term for presentation may be otherwise provided for in the instrument by the maker.

Section 802.

• The beginning and the running of the term for presentation and also prescription are suspended in favour of the applicant by the stoppage of payment. The suspension begins with the presentation of the application for the stoppage of payment; it ends on the termination of the proceedings by public summons; and, where the stoppage of payment has been ordered before the institution of the proceedings, the suspension also comes to an end if six months have elapsed since the removal of the obstacle preventing the institution of the proceedings and such institution has not previously been applied for. The provisions of 203, 206, 207 apply mutatis mutandis to this term.

Section 803.

• [I] If interest coupons have been issued for an obligation to bearer, the coupons, unless they contain a contrary provision, remain in force even if the principal obligation is extinguished or the obligation to pay interest is extinguished or modified.
• [II] If the interest coupons are not returned on the redemption of the principal obligation, the maker is entitled to retain the amount which he is bound to pay for the coupons as provided for in par. 1.

Section 804.

• [I] If an interest coupon, annuity coupon, or dividend coupon has been lost or destroyed, and the former bearer has given notice of the loss to the maker before the expiration of the term for presentation, the former bearer may demand performance by the maker after the expiration of the term. The claim is barred if the lost coupon has been presented to the maker for redemption, or the claim arising from the coupon has been enforced in court, unless the presentation or the enforcement in court has occurred after the expiration of the term. The claim is barred by prescription in four years.
• [II] As regards interest coupons, annuity coupons, or dividend coupons, the claim specified in par. 1 may be excluded.

Section 805.

• New interest coupons or annuity coupons for an obligation to bearer may not be delivered to the bearer of an instrument authorizing receipt of the coupons (i.e., a renewal coupon) if the bearer of the obligation has prohibited the delivery. In such a case the coupons shall be delivered to the bearer of the obligation if he presents it.

Section 806.

• The conversion of an obligation made payable to bearer into an obligation to a named payee may be effected only by the maker. The maker is not bound so to convert it.

Section 807.

• If tickets, checks, or similar instruments in which a creditor is not named are issued by the maker under circumstances from which it appears that he intends to be bound to perform in favour of the bearer, the provisions of 793, par. 1, and 794, 796, 797 apply mutatis mutandis.

Section 808.

• [I] If an instrument in which the creditor is named is issued with the provision that the performance promised in the instrument may be effected in favour of any bearer, the debtor is discharged by performing in favour of the bearer of the instrument. The bearer is not entitled to demand performance.
• [II] The debtor is bound to perform only upon delivery of the instrument. If the instrument is lost or destroyed, it may be declared void, unless it is otherwise provided, by means of the procedure by public summons. The provisions contained in 802 relating to prescription apply.