1. The legal effect of IOUs, IOUs and receipts 1. "IOU" refers to the credit certificate issued by the debtor to the creditor when the borrower and lender establish a relationship of rights and obligations. "IOU" is also called "IOU", and "IOU" is the more formal name. The most commonly used "IOU" is when borrowing cash. When the lender delivers the loan, the borrower will often ask the borrower to issue an "IOU" and submit it to the lender for receipt to confirm the fact of the loan; when borrowing items, the lender sometimes also Ask the other party to write an "IOU". The IOU is the necessary evidence to prove the debt of the loan contract relationship. It is a basis for the fact that the borrower issues the loan to the lender when the lender delivers the loan to the borrower. The word "borrow" not only reflects the loan contract relationship between the lender and the lender, but also reflects that the lender has fulfilled its "lending" obligation in the loan contract. If the borrower is not in good faith and fails to fulfill its obligation to repay the loan, the lender can sue the court with an "IOU" and request the court to order the borrower to repay the loan. At this time, the "IOU" has become the most important evidence in loan dispute cases. As long as the "IOU" can sufficiently prove the fact that both parties have borrowed money, the court will support the lender's claim. As for the interest on loans, according to Article 6 of the Supreme People's Court's "Several Opinions on the Trial of Loan Cases by People's Courts", the maximum cannot exceed four times the bank's interest rate for similar loans (including the principal amount of the interest rate). According to the provisions of Article 9, for regular interest-free loans between citizens, if the lender requires the borrower to pay overdue interest, or if an irregular interest-free loan fails to be repaid after a reminder, and the lender requires repayment of the interest after the reminder, the regulations for similar loans of banks may be referred to. Interest is calculated at interest rate. When writing an "IOU", you should pay attention to several issues: (1) Find out the real names of the borrower and the lender (whichever is registered in the ID card and household registration book), and find out the borrower's job, address, and even income. , property and other personal circumstances. The borrower shall sign his or her real name in the lower right corner of the "IOU". Signing is equivalent to confirming the content stated on the "IOU". Without a signature, it means there is no confirmation. If the borrower does not agree later, there is no signature or a fake name will probably not be supported by the court; (2) "IOU" is the best Interest, repayment period, repayment method and other matters can be agreed upon; (3) The "IOU" must clearly describe the facts of the loan. If the content is unclear or the amount is unclear, and if a dispute arises and the borrower does not approve it, the risk of litigation is very high. It is best to write the loan amount first in uppercase Chinese numerals, and then in Arabic numerals. It should be reminded that a loan agreement is different from an IOU. That is to say, the loan agreement can only prove that the two parties have reached an agreement on the loan, but whether the money is actually delivered to the borrower requires evidence such as an IOU to prove that the money has been delivered. The IOU is proof that the loan has occurred. Therefore, do not use the loan agreement as an IOU, otherwise your legitimate rights and interests may not be protected by law. Regarding the statute of limitations for "IOUs". For an "IOU" with a stated repayment period, if the borrower fails to repay the loan within the agreed repayment period, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code (effective), the statute of limitations shall be from the stated repayment period. The calculation starts from the next day and is 3 years. If the borrower signs or seals the reminder notice after the statute of limitations has expired, it shall be regarded as a re-confirmation of the original debt, and the creditor-debtor relationship shall also be protected by law. When recovering a creditor's right, the lender must require the borrower to write clearly on the "IOU": who will recover the loan from whom and when, and have the borrower sign to confirm the fact of recovery; some "IOUs" do not clearly specify the repayment period. , the lender may require the borrower to return the debt within a reasonable period at any time, and the statute of limitations shall be calculated for two years from the day after the lender asserts its rights. If the right holder claims his rights again, the provisions on interruption of the statute of limitations shall apply. However, Article 188 of the Civil Code stipulates: "If it has been more than 20 years since the date of infringement of the rights, the people's court will not provide protection." 2. "IOU" is also called "IOU", usually due to A debt certificate is issued to the creditor when the debtor is unable to repay on time due to its own reasons when performing its debts to the creditor. There is a big difference between the word "owe" and the word "borrow". "owed" reflects a "state", and "borrow" shows that the creditor's rights relationship is formed due to borrowing. IOU cannot indicate the real reason for the formation of the creditor's rights relationship. IOUs and IOUs are different in nature. IOUs are used to confirm the legal facts of a loan. The IOU is a certificate of arrears, a confirmation of the fact of arrears, and has the nature of a reminder. When the holder of an IOU files a lawsuit with the court based on the IOU, since it is easier to identify and determine the facts of the loan between the parties through the IOU itself, the holder of the IOU generally only needs to briefly state the facts of the loan to the court, and the other party needs to Denial is generally difficult. However, when the IOU holder sues the court based on the IOU, the IOU holder must state to the judge the fact that the debt was formed. If the other party denies it, the IOU holder must further prove the existence of the fact that the IOU was formed. There are many reasons for the occurrence of "IOUs", borrowing money can be one of the reasons, and others, such as in the performance of sales contracts, undertaking contracts, transportation contracts and other contracts, as long as the debtor fails to perform the debt in time, the creditor can also ask for an "IOU". In many cases, an "IOU" is often a settlement voucher for the economic transactions between the two parties, indicating that a creditor-debt relationship has been formed between the two parties since the date of writing the "IOU."

In addition to the things you should pay attention to when writing an "IOU", you should also pay attention to writing clearly the reasons for the "IOU", that is, why you owe money. Because, as far as arrears disputes are concerned, the "IOU" issued by the plaintiff must not only prove the fact of the arrears, but also prove the legality of the arrears and state the reasons clearly, which also explains the legality of the arrears. Illegal debts cannot be supported by the court, such as IOUs due to gambling, drug trafficking, etc. As long as there is evidence to prove the illegal facts, the court will not support such claims. The author reminds: "Love IOU" has no legal effect. Because marriage is a personal relationship, personal relationships cannot be forced, and such a "love IOU" obviously violates the legal principle of freedom of marriage and is invalid. Usually, an "IOU" is often accompanied by a basic contract, which confirms the contractual relationship between the creditor and the debtor and also supports the legality of the creditor's rights. To understand it from another perspective, the "IOU" actually confirms that the creditor has fulfilled its obligations under the basic contract, but the debtor has not fulfilled its payment obligations under the basic contract in a timely manner. Not only can "IOUs" be issued during settlement after the performance of a general contract, but during the performance of a labor contract, the employer can also require the employer to issue "IOUs" for wages. In debt disputes, we should pay attention to the statute of limitations. Both "IOU" and "IOU" are proof of the relationship between creditor and debt. We must pay attention to the statute of limitations of litigation. However, there are also obvious differences between them. There is no repayment period or performance period. There is a significant difference between the IOU and the IOU in the application of the statute of limitations. 3. "Receipt" refers to a voucher written to the other party when receiving money or goods from another person or unit. A formal "receipt" is also called a "receipt". It can be issued whether you receive money or items. A "receipt" can be used to confirm that you have fulfilled your contractual obligation to deliver money or goods. For example, if Party A and Party B sign a sales contract, after Party B fulfills its obligation to deliver the goods, Party A must pay Party B for the goods. When Party B receives the payment, Party B must issue a "receipt" (receipt or invoice) to Party A for receipt. The "receipt" is generally accompanied by a basic contract, which can be a sales contract, an undertaking contract, a transportation contract, etc. The legal effects of IOUs and receipts are different. The purpose of "IOUs" is to prove a loan contract relationship that has been unilaterally performed. When borrowing, you must make an IOU and cannot use a receipt instead. An IOU is a simplified loan contract. Its legal consequence is to establish a creditor-debt relationship between the parties. The borrower should return the loan or items to the lender in accordance with the agreement, otherwise it will bear corresponding liability for breach of contract. "Receipt" is completely different from "IOU". A separate "receipt" can only prove the fact that the payment and collection of property occurred between the parties, but it cannot prove the existence of a creditor-debt relationship between the parties, that is, the receipt is not an inevitable evidence of the debt. "There was such a case: A lent money to B, and B issued a "receipt" to A for receipt. Later, when B refused to repay the money, A sued B to the court based on the "receipt", but B refused to admit that he had borrowed the money. As a result, the court ruled that A lost the case. The reason why A lost the lawsuit in this case is very simple. When B does not admit the debt, a "receipt" alone cannot prove the object of "the money owed by B to A". Therefore, "receipt" and "IOU" cannot be used interchangeably. In addition, when purchasing goods or receiving services, the party paying the price or fee will often ask the other party to issue an "invoice". Both "invoice" and "receipt" have legal effect, but "invoice" is a more formal and standardized voucher than "receipt". The so-called "invoice" refers to the receipt and payment voucher issued and collected when purchasing and selling goods, providing or receiving services, and engaging in other business activities. Whether from the perspective of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers or from the perspective of increasing national fiscal revenue, in formal transactions, it is necessary for the buyer to require the other party to issue an invoice when paying for the goods (fees). 4. In summary, "IOU", "IOU" and "receipt" are three different types of documentary evidence and should be used appropriately depending on the specific situation. Since the three types of documents are generally private acts, it is best for both parties to invite a third party with no interest as a witness, and pay attention to the writing format of the document: title, text, signature and date. In the main text, it is best to state the reason and repayment date. If the amount is involved, it must be capitalized. At the same time, it should be noted that it is best to include the ID numbers of both parties in the document, so as to avoid unnecessary disputes. When the debtor signs, the creditor must see his signature with his own eyes. Finally, when it comes to the wording of IOUs, we should also pay attention to the application of sentences, try to avoid vague sentences, and use language that is prone to disagreement. Concise and semantically simple documents are the most standard. 2. Process of IOU Prosecution 1. Civil cases heard by the People's Court shall be heard in public, unless they involve state secrets, personal privacy or otherwise provided by law. For cases that are decided to be heard in court, both parties will be notified three days before the hearing. 2. A court hearing is roughly divided into several stages, including court investigation, court debate and review, and sentencing. If you apply for recusal, you need to explain your reasons. If you do not make an application or if your application is denied, the hearing will continue. 3. During the court investigation stage, the presiding judge or judge will organize both parties to present evidence and cross-examine their requests and claims in order. Cross-examination is when the parties question, explain and argue around the authenticity, relevance and legality of the evidence, as well as whether the evidence has probative power and its probative power.

4. During the court debate stage, the presiding judge or judge will organize both parties to express their opinions on the focus of the dispute and on the facts and legal responsibilities of the entire case. 5. During the deliberation and judgment stage, the collegial panel or the judge will summarize the trial situation, comment on the opinions expressed by both parties, indicate whether to support it, and explain the reasons. 6. If you are the plaintiff and refuse to appear in court without justifiable reasons after being summoned by the court, the court may dismiss the case; if the defendant counterclaims, a default judgment may be made. 7. As a party, you can reconcile with the other party at any stage of litigation before the judgment is announced, or request the People's Court to host mediation. If mediation is not agreed or a mediation agreement is not reached, the People's Court will continue the trial and make a judgment.