Judicial Interpretation of Contract Law (II) Article 5 stipulates: "If the parties conclude a contract by contract, they shall sign or seal it. If the parties press their fingerprints on the contract, the people's court shall determine that it has the same legal effect as the signature or seal. "
As can be seen from the above legal provisions, signature and thumbprint have the same legal effect. In life practice, the most prudent choice is to use both signature and thumbprint.
According to Article 52 of the Contract Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), this contract is invalid under any of the following circumstances:
1. One party enters into a contract by means of fraud or coercion, which harms the national interests;
2, malicious collusion, damage the interests of the state, the collective or the third party;
3. Covering up illegal purposes in a legal form;
4, damage the public interests;
5. Violation of mandatory provisions of laws and administrative regulations.
According to the requirements of fingerprints on IOUs:
There is no clear legal regulation on which finger to use to press the fingerprint. In life practice, fingerprints are usually pressed with the index finger of the right hand.
Extended data:
Notes on handwritten IOUs:
1, IOUs must be standardized. When typing IOUs, try to use indelible ink such as carbon copy, indicate the currency before the loan amount, use uppercase Chinese characters, and fill in lowercase Arabic numerals in brackets. The standard format is usually "why, how much money was borrowed from whom, what is the loan interest rate, when to pay it back, debtor's signature, witness's signature, year and date."
2. Pay special attention not to use polysyllabic and polysemous words. Many Chinese characters in China have polysyllabic words. Once these Chinese characters are used on IOUs, they may cause disputes. For example, "paying back 10,000 yuan" can be understood as "paying back 10,000 yuan" or "owing 10,000 yuan".
3. The IOU must be filled out by the debtor himself. Some debtors used to find someone to write the IOUs for them in order to avoid their debts. When creditors demanded money back, they refused to pay back on the grounds that it was not their own handwriting. Therefore, the debt must be filled in by the debtor himself. If the IOU is printed, it is best to ask the borrower to sign, seal and print the debtor's signature column.
4. Keep the IOUs properly to prevent them from being stolen, lost or polluted. Keep them in a safe place, which is not easy to get wet and can't be exposed to chemicals. At the same time, several copies should be made. In the future, you can send copies to the borrower to ensure the safety of the original.
5. Prompt for dunning. After the loan expires, the creditor shall require the debtor to repay the loan in time. If the debtor can't return it for a while, the debtor is required to sign a repayment agreement. If the debtor still fails to perform or escapes on schedule, the creditor shall bring a lawsuit to the court within two years after the loan expires and collect it according to law.