The Duties Owed by Agents to their Principals May or May not be Dictated by the Express Terms of the Contracts Between them - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages (2011). Q & A Commercial Law 2011-2012. Oxon: Taylor & Francis 6th ed. De Busccche v Alt (1878) 8 ChD 286 in Reddy, J., & Johnson, H. (2011). Q & A Commercial Law 2011-2012. Oxon: Taylor & Francis 6th ed. Headley Byrne & Co ltd v Heller & Partners Ltd (1964) AC 465 in Reddy, J., & Johnson, H. (2011). Q & A Commercial Law 2011-2012. Oxon: Taylor & Francis 6th ed. Robinson v Mollett (1875) LR 7 HL 802 in Reddy, J., & Johnson, H. (2011). Q & A Commercial Law 2011-2012. Oxon: Taylor & Francis 6th ed. Solley v Wood (1852) in Reddy, J., & Johnson, H. (2011). Q & A Commercial Law 2011-2012. Oxon: Taylor & Francis 6th ed. Turnbull v Garden (1869) 20 LT 218 145 in Reddy, J., & Johnson, H. (2011). Q & A Commercial Law 2011-2012. Oxon: Taylor & Francis 6th ed. Turpin v Bilton (1843) 5 Man & G 455 in The Law of Agency, The Law of International Trade and Carriage of Goods. Accessed < http://www.nadr.co.uk/articles/published/shipping/002CHAPTER TWO TRADE5.pdf> 2 Nov 2011 Watteau v Fenwick [1893] 1 QB 346 in University of London External Programme Accessed < http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/current_students/programme_resources/laws/subject_guides/commercial/commercial_ch2.pdf> 2 Nov 2011 Weigall& Co v Runciman & Co (1916) 85 LJKB 1187 in Munday Roderick and Munday R.J.C. LJKB 1187 Agency; Law and Principles (2009) Oxford, Oxford University Press The duties owed by agents to their principals may or may not be dictated by the express terms of the contracts between them Agency is an exception to the doctrine of privity in a contract in that a principal is bound by all acts of his agent by virtue of an agreement between him and the agent. Both law and specific terms of contract between them govern the duties owed by agents to their principals. Although a contract of agency is subject to the same rules as in any other contracts, there are certain terms implied such as fiduciary relationship between the principal and the agent which gives rise duties owed to the principal by the agent and rights he can exercise against the principal. In addition, a type known as ‘commercial agent’ also is subject the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 pursuant to European Union Law dealing with termination of agreement in respect of self-employed agents who arrange contracts for the sale or purchase of goods. As per these regulations, a duty is cast on the agents to act ‘dutifully and with good faith’ which term cannot be contracted out by a separate contract between them. Even in the case of gratuitous acts of an agent where there can be no contractual obligations, the agent has fiduciary duties which cannot be avoided merely because of lack of consideration. He will also be liable under torts. In Watteau v Fenwick (1893), hotel owner was held liable for the price of cigar bought by the manger who had been instructed not to buy other than mineral water and beer. This decision is still controversial since the agent acted against the instructions though the supplier assumed that the manager was the owner (Reddy & Johnson, 2011) (Sealy, Hooley, & Hooley, 2008). An agent’s duties regardless of the contractual terms between him and the principal are as follows. Duty to obey All lawful instructions of the principal must be obeyed by his agent. He should not also exceed his authority. This is applicable to both paid and gratuitous agent categories. However, if the instructions are not ...Download file to see next pagesRead More