This Practice Note is an introduction to agency. It describes the essentials of the agency relationship between the principal and the agent including the ways in which an agent is appointed to act on behalf of a principal, the different types of agency appointments, and the authority that an agent has to act on behalf of a principal.
Nature of agency
Agency is a relationship under which a principal appoints an agent to act under their direction and on their behalf for specified purposes. In business, such purposes are commonly the introduction or conclusion of contracts between the principal and customers or other third parties. The term ‘agent’ is sometimes used loosely in business and may refer to those, eg distributors, whose activities are similar to those of agents but who are not agents in law.
In commercial matters, the parties will normally have a written agreement that sets out:
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the scope of the agent's authority
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the parties' rights and duties
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under what circumstances and with what consequences the agency can be terminated
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general commercial
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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Related legal acts:
Key definition:
Agency definition
What does Agency mean?
Agency is a legal relationship between an agent who is a person having the authority or capacity to create legal relations between a principal and third parties.
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