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The Law of Agency

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The Law of Agency The law of agency was originally formulated in the latter years of the 12th century (Reuschlein, 1990).It found its first application in the slave trade as there was concern relative to who was to be responsible of the acts of slaves. Without agency being applied, the acts of slaves, who were not considered citizens and therefore not subject to being sued, would go uncompensated. Agency laws were formulated to allow victims to see recovery against slave owners. The agency concepts as we know them in present day law, however, were formulated in the 19th century as commercial activities increased throughout the world (Hay, 1993). As business activity increased, it became necessary for the legal system to devise a method to handle the multitude of relationships that grew out of these activities. During this time, the rudimentary rules of agency started to be organized and collected into a unified code of law. In the late 19th century the center of most business was in England and it was here that the laws of agency came to maturity. Through the application of contract law in that nation the doctrine of principals and agents became to be based on three principal elemental propositions (Huffcut, 1999): The creation by contract, express or implied by the relationship; The non-liability of the agent for contracts made in the name of the principal; The liability of the principal for contracts made by a duly authorized agent. The growth of

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