Comission agency: Certain open issues

Abstract

A particularity of commission agency is that the commission agent acts in its own name, but for the account of the principal. The provisions of the Law on Obligations leave certain practical issues conclusively unresolved, and such issues have been encountered both in doctrinal analysis and in case law. The article analyzes some of the issues that, while being relevant in practice, have not been subject to scrutiny recently, such as the content and reach of the obligation of the commission agent to act in accordance with the instructions of the principal, the principals rights over chattels, and claims acquired by the commission agent or held by it, implications of the provisions of the law regulating the rights of the principal in case of bankruptcy of the commission agent, and the consequences of commission agent's belated transfer of monies received or even unauthorized use of monies belonging to the principal.

Keywords

• commission agency
• commission agent
• principal
• pledge
• bankruptcy