Title

II.4 - Agency by estoppel / apparent authority

Content

No. II.4 - Agency by estoppel / apparent authority

Where the conduct of the principal causes the third party reasonably and in good faith to believe that the agent has authority to act on behalf of the principal and the agent is acting within the scope of that authority, the principal may not invoke against the third party the lack of authority of the agent ("agency by estoppel", "Anscheinsvollmacht").

Commentary

This Principle results from the general Principle of good faith and the prohibition of inconsistent behavior. The Principle requires reasonable reliance by the third party on the conduct of the principal, e.g. because the latter has made certain statements or has behaved in a way that causes a reasonable person in the same situation as the third party to believe that the agent has authority to act on behalf of the principal and that he is acting within the scope of that authority.

References

Doctrine

 Cooke, Elizabeth, The Modern Law of Estoppel, 2000Berger, Klaus Peter, The Creeping Codification of the Lex Mercatoria, The Hague, London, Boston 1999Berger, Klaus Peter, The Creeping Codification of the New Lex Mercatoriam 2nd. ed. 2010Dalhuisen, Jan H. - Legal Orders and Their Manifestation: The Operation of the International Commercial and Financial Legal Order and Its Lex Mercatoria, (2006) 24 Berk J Intl L  129.Derains, Yves, note to ICC Award No. 5065, Clunet 1987, at 1043 et seq.Esser, Josef, Grundsatz und Norm in der richterlichen Fortbildung des Privatrechts, 4th ed., Tübingen 1990Fouchard Gaillard Goldman on International Commercial Arbitration (edited by Emmanuel Gaillard and John Savage) The Hague 1999Hanisch, Hans, Das Genfer Abkommen über die Stellvertretung bei internationalen Wareneinkäufen von 1983, in: Festschrift Giger, Bern 1989, at 251 et seq.Hartkamp, Arthur, Judicial Discretion Under the New Civil Code of the Netherlands, 40 Am.J.Comp.L. 1992, at 551 et seq.Ingber, Léon / de Saedeleer, Isabelle / Renard, Alain, Chronique de droit civil belge. La réforme du droit de la filiation (loi du 31 mars 1987), in: RTD Civ. 1991 at page 829 et seq.Kropholler, Jan, Die Anscheinshaftung im internationalen Recht der Stellvertretung,, 19 NJW 1965, at 1641 et seq.Montrose, J. L., The Apparent Authority of an Agent of a Company, 50 L.Q.Rev. 1934, at 224 et seq.Sandrock, Otto, Arbitration Agreements and Groups of Companies, in: Festschrift Pierre Lalive, Basel, Frankfurt a.M. 1993, at 625 et seq.Schmitthoff, Clive, Agency in International Trade, A Study in Comparative Law, 117 Rec.Cours 1970-I, at 115 et seq.Staehelin, Estoppel und Vertrauensprinzip, in: Festschrift Simonius, Basel 1955, at 381 et seq.Tourneau, Philippe le, Mandat, Rép. civ. Dalloz juin 2011 at page 1 et seq.Wühler, Norbert, Application of General Principles of Law, in van den Berg (ed.), Planning efficient Arbitration Proceedings - The Law Applicable in International Arbitration, p. 553 et seq.

Model Laws

A Contract Code: Drawn up on Behalf of the English Law CommissionCode Européen des Contrats - European Contract CodePrinciples of Latin American Contract Law (PLACL)The Draft Civil Code for Israel in: Siehr, Kurt/Zimmermann, Reinhard (ed.) The Draft Civil Code for Israel in comparative perspective, 2008

National Legislation

Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (2020)Civil Code Québec 1991Contract Law of the People's Republic of ChinaContract Law of the People's Republic of ChinaFinnish Contracts ActFrench Civil Code 2016Japanese Civil Code 2020
Act No. 89 of 1896
Amendment of Act No. 44 of 2017Nieuw Burgerlijk Wetboek - New Netherlands Civil Code ( Dutch Civil Code )Philippines Republic Act 386 (Civil Code)

International Legislation

Convention on Agency in the International Sale of Goods (Geneva, 17 February 1983).Fontaine, Marcel, OHADA Uniform Act On Contract Law Preliminary DraftOrganization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA), Uniform act relating to general commercial law

Arbitral Awards

Hamburger Freundschaftliche Arbitrage, Ad Hoc-Award of March 12, 1984, YCA 1991, at 11, 12 et seq.

Principles / Restatements

Principles of European Contract Law - PECLUNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts 2016