Legal Thoughts on Determining the Primary Debtor Concerning Promissory Notes Issued Through Authorized Representative of the Company within the Scope of the Decision Dated 23.01.2017 and Numbered 2017/38-2017/444 of the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit

Abstract

One of the absolute compulsory elements of the promissory note is the signature of the issuing person. Sometimes due to a legal obligation or sometimes the will of the person, the promissory note can be issued through an authorized representative. Except for the situation related to the term indirect representation, it is the represented person who is deemed to have the legal responsibilities on the promissory note as issuing the instrument if it is issued through a legal representative. Commercial companies use their will through their authorized bodies. However, the term representation cannot be mentioned when a promissory note is issued through the authorized bodies of the commercial companies. Instead, this instrument is deemed to be issued directly by the commercial company itself. The decision of the court of appeals, which constitutes the subject of our work, is related to two marks of the company stamp; one of which is located on the right bottom corner of the instrument, and the other one, which is located on the printed designated area for the guarantor. The one which is located on the right bottom corner of the instrument, is signed twice, without exceeding the mark of the stamp. In the context of this very instrument, it is decided upon that the company is the legal person who signs a surety, and the authorized representative of the company is the person who issues the instrument, regarding the fact that the printed designated area, indicating the person who performs the payment, filled with the name and surname of the authorized representative. However, the company itself should be deemed as the person who issues the instrument, even if the promissory note is signed by an authorized representative under the commercial name of the commercial company, since the signature of the person who issues the instrument is an absolute mandatory element required by the law for issuing the promissory note.