Can only audio recordings be used as evidence without IOUs?

China's current Civil Procedure Law stipulates eight types of evidence, including party statements, documentary evidence, physical evidence, audio-visual materials, electronic data, witness testimony, appraisal opinions, and inquest records. Audio recordings are one of the audiovisual materials. Article 197 of China's Contract Law stipulates:

A private loan contract between citizens is a non-formal contract, and the parties may take written form, oral form or other forms." In a loan dispute case, the plaintiff, as a creditor, exercising the right to claim creditor's rights, should first assert that its claim has been established and has expired, and for this reason, it should provide the court with evidence that its rights have occurred and the legal facts that have expired have been established. According to Articles 4 and 5 of the Several Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on the Trial of Loan Cases by the People's Courts, the requirements for proof in loan cases are relatively high, and the plaintiff's claim can only be supported if the loan relationship is clear.

If there is only evidence of audio recordings, the probative force is weak, and the claim may not be recognized by the court.

1. An IOU is not the only evidence of the loan relationship, and it is possible to obtain the support of the court without an IOU, and there have been previous judgments that have been supported by the court based only on audio or video evidence; 2. Lending is a practical legal act, and in addition to the evidence that proves the existence of the borrowing relationship, it should also prove that the money has been delivered.

If there is no IOU, the recording may be used as evidence, but the recording shall be legal and authentic, and in a civil imitation lawsuit, the parties shall provide corresponding evidence for their own claims, and the people's court will conduct a comprehensive and objective review and verification of the evidence provided by the parties in accordance with legal procedures.

Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China

Article 67.

It is the responsibility of the parties to provide evidence for their own claims.

The people's court shall investigate and collect evidence that the parties and their litigants are unable to collect on their own for objective reasons, or evidence that the people's court finds necessary for the trial of the case.

The people's courts shall follow legally-prescribed procedures to comprehensively and objectively review and verify evidence.

Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China

Article 69.

When the people's court receives the evidence materials submitted by the parties, it shall issue a receipt, indicating the name of the evidence, the number of pages, the number of copies, the original or photocopy, the time of receipt, and so forth, and the personnel handling it shall sign or affix a seal.

Legal analysis: Audio recordings can also be used as evidence. But it depends. If the evidence is obtained by infringing upon the lawful rights and interests of others or violating the prohibitive provisions of the law, it cannot be used as the basis for determining the facts of the case.

Legal basis: Article 63 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China There are the following types of evidence: (1) documentary evidence; (2) Physical evidence; (3) Audio-visual materials imitate the material; (4) Witnesses testify with great care; (5) the statements of the parties; (6) Appraisal conclusions; (7) Inquest records.

Legal Analysis: Audio recordings are audio-visual materials that can be used as evidence.

Where parties use audio-visual materials as evidence, they shall provide the original medium for storing the audio-visual materials.

Where parties use electronic data as evidence, they shall provide the originals. A copy of the electronic data that is consistent with the original made by the producer of the electronic data, or a printout or other output medium that can be displayed or identified directly from the electronic data, is regarded as the original of the electronic data.

Legal basis: Article 63 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China Evidence includes:

1) Statements of the parties;

2) documentary evidence; 3) physical evidence;

4) audio-visual materials;

e) electronic data;

6) witness testimony;

7) Appraisal opinions;

8) Inquest records.

Evidence must be verified to be true before it can be used as a basis for determining facts.

Several Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Evidence in Civil Proceedings Article 15: Where parties use audio-visual materials as evidence, they shall provide the original carrier for storing the audio-visual materials.

Where parties use electronic data as evidence, they shall provide the originals. A copy of the electronic data that is consistent with the original made by the producer of the electronic data, or a printout or other output medium that can be displayed or identified directly from the electronic data, is regarded as the original of the electronic data.

form part of the evidence.

If there is no IOU, and there is a recording that can be used as evidence to get money, it depends on whether it complies with the "Several Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Evidence in Civil Proceedings", and if it complies with the rules, it can be accepted by the people's court during the trial and used as direct evidence to recover the arrears.

Article 68: Evidence obtained by methods that infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of others or violate prohibitive provisions of law cannot be used as the basis for determining the facts of a case.

Article 70: Where one party submits any of the following evidence, and the other party raises objections but does not have sufficient evidence to refute the contrary, the people's court shall confirm its probative force:

1) The original documentary evidence or a photocopy, **, duplicate, or excerpt of the original documentary evidence;

(2) The original physical evidence or reproductions, video materials, and so forth that have been verified to be correct with the original physical evidence;

(3) Audio-visual materials that are supported by other evidence and obtained by lawful means, or copies that have been verified to be correct with the audio-visual materials;