The role of signature design in law can be ignored.
The physiological characteristics of signature Modern science shows that the formation of writing habits is the result of the establishment of an "automatic" conditioned reflex system by the central nervous system of the human body in writing activities, which forms the stereotype of writing motivation. Just as there are no two identical leaves in the world, everyone's handwriting will be different. Therefore, the handwriting of the same person and that of different people can be identified by inspection.
As a tool to express one's responsibility, reputation, recognition and will, signature's psychological characteristics mainly include signature, seal and handprint. The seal is engraved by others, the official seal is kept by a special person, and the private seal is kept by myself. Generally speaking, if properly kept, it can also play a corresponding legal role. But once the seal is stolen, it will make the owner of the seal bear legal responsibility without knowing it. Moreover, modern seals are mostly artistic fonts, which are easy to imitate and have poor security. From the perspective of anti-counterfeiting, because everyone's fingerprints are different, the anti-counterfeiting degree of handprints is higher than that of seals. But handprints are mostly made by illiterate people, which can't reflect cultural factors at all. When it comes to handprints, longer people will think of poor Yang Bailao, who was knocked unconscious by Huang Shiren and then forced to put handprints on the deed of sale. In contrast, the signature must be completed with the clear will of the signer, and it cannot be replaced by others. The cultural effect and emotional factors embodied in the signature are incomparable with the other two.
Regarding the legal function of signature, many laws, regulations, rules and measures in China have detailed provisions, which are recorded as follows:
(1) Article 60 of the Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that complaints and exposures can be made in writing or orally. The staff who accept the oral complaint or report shall make a written record, which shall be signed or sealed by the complainant and the prosecutor after being correctly read out.
Article 66 stipulates that after the defendant admits that there is no mistake in the transcript, he shall sign or seal it. Reconnaissance personnel should also sign the record.
Article 76 stipulates that an inquest or inspection shall be written in writing and signed or sealed by the participants and witnesses.
Article 89 stipulates that an appraiser shall write an appraisal conclusion and sign it.
Article 124 stipulates that all the activities of the court trial shall be written by the clerk, and shall be signed by the presiding judge and the clerk after being examined by the presiding judge.
(2) There are 14 items in the business of the notary office stipulated in Article 4 of Chapter II of the Provisional Regulations on Notarization in People's Republic of China (PRC), in which "the signature and seal on the document are true".
(3) Article 8 of the Measures for Handling Official Documents of State Administrative Organs stipulates that all official documents shall be stamped with official seals. The official document submitted to the State Council shall indicate the issuer.
Article 24 stipulates that official documents of state administrative organs at all levels shall be issued by the leaders of the organs, and those that are important or involve a wide range shall be issued by the principal or deputy leaders who preside over daily work. Some official documents can be issued by the secretary-general or the director of the general office (room) according to the authorization.
Article 25 stipulates that leaders at all levels should be serious and responsible in approving official documents, and the main batch of documents should sign their own opinions, names and time.
Regarding similar provisions, we can still find a lot in relevant laws. It is not difficult to find that except where the official seal must be used, the signature can be used where the private seal is needed, but the place where the signature is needed cannot be replaced by the private seal, which shows that our laws attach importance to the role of signature.
It is precisely because of the characteristics of these signatures that national laws must be signed by president (chairman) to take effect, and local regulations must also be signed by local administrative heads to have legal effect. The wide application of signature has also led to the appearance of a kind of etiquette-signing ceremony. In the political, economic, military, scientific and cultural exchanges between countries and regions, it is necessary to sign agreements, treaties and conventions reached by two or more parties in a certain field, even important agreements signed between domestic departments and regions often adopt this form. As for folk economic and cultural exchanges, the use of signatures is more common.