Research and development in private law

Research and development in private law

From Authorization to authority; A Critique of the “Doctrine of the Impossibility of the Principal’s Personal Action in the Subject Matter of an Irrevocable Agency”: with Critical Analytical Approach to Judicial Practice

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Erfan Nouri 1
Mohammad Hadi Javaher Kalam 2
1 M.A in Private Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Allameh Tabatabaei University
2 Assistant Professor of Private Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Allameh Tabataba'i University
10.22034/jpl.2026.2087929.1313
Abstract
The present study, employing a descriptive–analytical method and adopting a foundational–applied approach, examines the possibility of the principal’s performance of the subject matter of the agency or conduct incompatible with it by principal, and its effect on the automatic termination of an irrevocable agency from the perspectives of Imami jurisprudence and Iranian law, with an emphasis on judicial practice. The central question is whether, in an irrevocable agency, similar to a revocable agency, the principal may, by actualising the subject matter of the agency or by engaging in an act incompatible with it, bring about the dissolution of the agency, or reduce the authority of the original agent through the appointment of an additional agent; or whether, in this type of agency, due to the non-revocability of the agent, the principal is precluded even indirectly from causing the agency relationship to cease; or, alternatively, whether distinctions must be drawn among various forms of agency? Moreover, does the doctrine denying the principal’s ability to intervene in the subject matter of an irrevocable agency not deprive this institution of its authorization-based and representative nature, and move it closer to the conferral of authority upon another (the agent)? An examination of juristic foundations, legal doctrine, and judicial decisions reveals a serious divergence of opinion regarding the principal’s authority to perform the subject matter of the agency or to undertake acts contrary thereto in irrevocable agencies. Nevertheless, recognising such authority is more consistent with the essence of agency and the will of the principal, a conclusion also supported by the general wording of Article 683 of the Iranian Civil Code, unless the principal has expressly, or by implication arising from circumstances and contextual indications, restricted or waived such authority. Notwithstanding this, in a “agency that grants right”, the principal may neither personally perform the subject matter of the agency nor undertake an act contrary to it, nor may the principal reduce the scope of the agent’s authority through the appointment of an additional agent. Accordingly, it is proposed that, in addition to legislative action aimed at amending Article 683 of the Civil Code or adding a note thereto, judicial practice should regarding representative agencies, even when irrevocable presume the permissibility of the principal’s action, in contrast to agencies that gant right, and require proof for any claimed prohibition.
Keywords
: Agency
Irrevocable Agency
General Agency
Performance of the Subject Matter of Agency
Act incompatible with Agency
Dissolution (Automatic Termination)
Article 683 of the Iranian Civil Code
Subjects
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