No person is liable on an instrument unless his or her signatures appear on it. For participants of relations implying from a bill of exchange on debtor's side is essentially important whether they signed the bill of exchange in the position of direct or indirect (regress) debtor. Direct debtor is the one against whom it is possible to claim directly and without so called preserving (maintaining) acts (presentation and protest). Putting forward the claim is in fact not bound with other presumptions than due presentation of a bill of exchange.
On the other side, regress debtor is a debtor of the "second class". He plays a role of a certain security against which is usually proceeded only in case when requested procedure is not kept. As a rule, it concerns cases when bill of exchange was not accepted, or although it was accepted, at the maturity it was not paid. Therefore rights against regress debtors can be exercised within so called protest only after executing certain maintaining acts (typically presentation of the bill of exchange for acceptation or payment and execution of a protest for non-acceptance or non-payment, unless the holder was from this duty liberated in special cases).
The Czech law does not make a difference in terminology between a drawer of a promissory note (maker) and drawer of a bill of exchange (drawer stricto sensu). Hereinafter we will refer to "maker" in general. As concerns maker of a bill of exchange, we will speak about "drawer". Maker as an author of promise or order to pay is a key person of bill relations. Without his signature the bill is not valid. Maker is a bill debtor; key question for his position in hierarchy of bill debtors is whether he drew a bill of exchange or a promissory note. It is essential to distinguish both two makers; the difference lays particularly in content of laws, which a creditor holds against them.
As stated above, maker of a promissory note obliges himself to pay at the maturity. He is thus direct debtor. He can release him from liability for payment or make his liability bounded with any condition, if the paper should be valid.
Unlike maker, drawer of a bill of exchange (trasant) is in a position of indirect, regress debtor - see Article I, Section 9 BECA which stipulates that drawer is recoursed not before the bill of exchange was not accepted or paid. Drawer can release himself from guaranteeing acceptance with special stipulation "without recourse for acceptance". Every stipulation by which he releases himself from the guarantee of payment is deemed not to be written. If drawer (trasant), within the recourse, will pay, he can in principle acquire rights only against prospective acceptor and his aval.
The first bill creditor, a person, in whose favour the bill is issued, is in Czech designated as "remitent". The payee is the person named on the face of the bill of exchange or a promissory note to receive payment. Payee is the first beneficiary from a bill. Usually he is named in words "Pay to the order of Robert Altman"; the named person, Robert Altman, is the payee. The drawer and the payee in case of bills of exchange drawn "to the order" may be the same person (Article I, Section 3, paragraph 1 of BECA).
Drawee, in Czech "smìneèník" or "trasát", is an addressee of payment promise of the drawer. For the moment he is not obliged, but absolutely necessary participant - statement of his name is one of requirements of a bill of exchange. He becomes a real debtor only by the acceptance. Till this moment he is obliged only potentially; under certain circumstances he even does not have to know that he became a drawee.
Drawee is obliged only by the written acceptance of a drawer's order. In present Czech law practice, on the spot acceptance of the bill prevails. From the payee's point of view, such an acceptance is comfortable: before passing on the bill to the creditor (remittent), the drawer ensures acceptance by the drawee and accepted bill is passed on to the creditor. The bill can be accepted only by the person stated as a drawee. Acceptor is then - similarly to maker of a promissory note - obliged in a position of direct bill debtor (Article I Section 28 paragraph 1 BECA). If he pays the bill, he has no other option to recourse further bill debtors.
BECA in its Article I, Section 30-32 stipulates a special guarantee for payment of a bill - so called "aval". The giver of an aval (in Czech "aval", "avalista") is usually a person not obliged yet. This guarantee my be given by a person who has signed the bill as well. The giver of an aval is bound in the same manner as the person for whom he has become a guarantor. The person, for whom the guarantee is given, is in Czech named "avalát".
In most case, the bill, even if not expressly drawn to order, may be transferred by the means of endorsement. Endorser (formerly in Czech "rubopisec", "žirant") by the means of endorsement endorses rights arising from the bill to the endorsee (formerly in Czech "rubopisník", "žiratáø"). The first endorser is the payee.
Endorser is an indirect (regress) debtor. According to Article I, Section 15 paragraph 1 of BECA, he guarantees payment of the bill unless he released himself from the guarantee by a special stipulation.
A bill of exchange may be payable at the domicile of a third person either in the locality where the drawee has his domicile or in another locality (Article I, Section 4 BECA). The person stated as a domicile is neither bounded nor beneficiary, he is only a mediator through whom the bill should be paid. Usually the role of the domicile plays a bank.