Negotiable

Negotiable, as a term of art describes an instrument which can give to a transferee a better title than that possessed by the transferor. A bill of lading is not 'negotiable' in this sense: the indorsee does not get a better title than his assignor. Indeed a bill of lading is 'negotiable' only in a popular, and not in a technical, sense. For it is 'negotiable' only in a popular, and not in a technical, sense. For it is 'negotiable' to the same extent as a cheque marked 'not negotiable', i.e. it is 'transferrable', Scrutton on Charterparties and Bills of Lading, 20th Edn., (1996), p. 185.