A promissory note contains:
- The order clause or the denunciation of the instrument inserted in the text itself and expressed in the language used for drafting the instrument:
- The unconditional promise to pay a specified sum:
- The indication of the due date:
- The indication of the place where payment is to be made:
- The name of the person to whom or to whose order payment is to be made;
- The indication of the date and place where the note is issued;
- The signature of the issuer, known as the maker.
An instrument lacking one of the statements indicated in the preceding article is not valid as a promissory note, except in the case specified in the following paragraph.
A promissory note without an indicated due date is considered payable on demand.
The following provisions apply to promissory notes, insofar as they are not incompatible with the nature of this instrument:
- Endorsement;
- Maturity;
- Payment;
- Recourse for non-payment;
- Protests;
- Exchange;
- Payment by intervention;
- Copies;
- Alterations;
- Statute of limitations;
- Public holidays, working days and similar days, and the calculation of time limits.
The following provisions also apply to promissory notes: those concerning bills of exchange payable at the address of a third party or in a location other than that of the drawee's domicile, the stipulation of interest, and differences in the amount due.
The consequences of affixing a signature under the conditions referred to in Article 84 of the law, and those of the signature of a person acting without authority or exceeding their authority.
The provisions relating to endorsements set forth in Article 100 of the regulation also apply to promissory notes. In the case provided for in the sixth paragraph of Article 100, if the endorsement does not indicate on whose behalf it was given, it is deemed to have been given on behalf of the maker of the promissory note.
The maker of a promissory note is bound in the same manner as the acceptor of a bill of exchange.
Promissory notes payable at a certain time after sight must be presented for the maker's endorsement within the time limits set forth in Article 94. The time limit for sight runs from the date of the maker's signed endorsement on the note. The maker's refusal to give their dated endorsement is evidenced by a protest, the date of which serves as the starting point for the time limit for sight.