Question 2 (a)
Delegation by an agent: sub-agent and substituted agent
9.375 marks
- Time to write
- About 19 minutes
From an older CBCS paper
Question
Question 2 (a) · 9.375 marks“Can his powers be delegated by an agent?” In light of this statement, bring out how a Sub-agent differs from a Substituted agent.
Reworded from the university paper; the task is the same. The original paper belongs to the University of Delhi. See DU's question bank.
Before you write
Read off the question and its marks
Read from the question
- statementTie the answer to the quoted statement: say what it means first, and come back to it at the end.
- differs fromSet the differences out in a table, basis by basis, not as two separate essays.
What the paper leaves open
The paper prints no mark per question (any four of six, equal marks, 75 in all); each question is reckoned here at 18.75 marks. Marked as one question of 18.75 marks; answered here in 2 parts of 9.375 marks each (marks inferred).
Write it in this order
- Read; underline the asks; jot your points 1 min
- 1 Can an agent delegate? 4.8 marks 9 min
- 2 Sub-agent and substituted agent 4.6 marks 8 min
- Check: every ask answered, key terms underlined 1 min
Short on time? Trim steps 1 and 2 evenly rather than skip one: each is capped at its own marks.
Try it first. About 19 minutes for 9.375 marks. Write it out, then open the solution.
Solution
Hover or tap a marked figure, like 72,000, to see how it is made and where else it appears.
Can an agent delegate? As a rule, no. “An agent cannot lawfully employ another to perform acts which he has expressly or impliedly undertaken to perform personally” (s. 190): he is himself a delegate, and a delegate cannot further delegate (delegatus non potest delegare), because agency rests on the principal's confidence in the agent. He may employ a sub-agent where the ordinary custom of trade allows it, or the nature of the agency requires it, or the original appointment contemplated it, or where an unforeseen emergency arising in the course of his employment makes it necessary for him to delegate.
Sub-agent and substituted agent. “A sub-agent is a person employed by, and acting under the control of, the original agent in the business of the agency” (s. 191). A substituted agent is a person whom the agent, having express or implied authority to name another, names to act for the principal (s. 194).
| Basis | Sub-agent | Substituted agent |
|---|---|---|
| What is delegated | A part of the original agent's own work, done for him | The business of the agency, taken over for the principal |
| Appointment | By the agent, to act under him | By the agent, holding authority to name another, with the principal's knowledge and consent |
| Control | Works under the agent's control | Acts for the principal |
| Privity with the principal | None: the agent is responsible to the principal | Direct: he is the principal's agent |
| Agent's liability | The agent is liable for the sub-agent's acts | The agent is not liable if he used the care of a man of ordinary prudence in choosing him (s. 195) |
Both are appointed by the agent; they differ in control, in what is delegated and in privity with the principal, as the table sets out.
Where the 9.375 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Can an agent delegate? | 4.75 |
| 2 | Sub-agent and substituted agent | 4.625 |
| Total | 9.375 |
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