The
law of agency is an area of
commercial law dealing with a set of
contractual,
quasi-contractual and non-contractual
fiduciary relationships that involve a person, called the
agent, that is authorized to act on behalf of another (called the
principal) to create legal relations with a third party. Succinctly, it may be referred to as the equal relationship between a principal and an agent whereby the principal, expressly or implicitly, authorizes the agent to work under his or her control and on his or her behalf. The agent is, thus, required to negotiate on behalf of the principal or bring him or her and third parties into contractual relationship. This branch of law separates and regulates the relationships between:
- agents and principals (internal relationship), known as the principal-agent relationship;
- agents and the third parties with whom they deal on their principals' behalf (external relationship); and
- principals and the third parties when the agents deal.