The Understanding, Application and Practice of Article 16 of the Judicial Interpretation of Private Lending

民间借贷主要指非金融机构的民事主体之间通过资金予以借贷往来的融通行为。民间借贷作为商事活动中颇为常见的法律行为，也是司法审判中极易产生争议的案件类型之一。我国《民法典》合同编第十二章对借款合同进行了专章规定，但内容过于原则，且并未就民间借贷予以特别规定。现行有效的民间借贷司法解释是指导此类案件最直接、最具体的依据和规定，该解释第十六条就仅依据转账凭证单一书证提起诉讼的案件处理思路予以明确规定，但在具体举证责任适用与法院的审理思路上仍有待进一步厘清。Private lending mainly refers to the act of borrowing and lending between civil entities of non-financial institutions through funds. As a common legal act in commercial activities, private lending is also one of the types of cases that are prone to disputes in judicial trials. Chapter 12 of Chinese Civil Code specifically provides for loan contracts, but the content is too principled and there are no special provisions for private lending. The current effective judicial interpretation of private lending is the most direct and specific basis and regulation to guide such cases. Article 16 of this interpretation provides clear provisions on the handling of cases based solely on the transfer voucher as a single documentary evidence, but further clarification is needed on the specific application of the burden of proof and the court’s trial approach.