Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Agency definition

What does Agency mean? Agency describes the legal relationship by which one person (the agent) is authorised to affect a principal’s legal relations with third parties, typically by entering contracts or performing other legal acts on the principal’s behalf. It is a common law concept developed mainly through case law across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, with sectoral statutes in specific contexts (for example the Commercial Agents Regulations, the Partnership Act 1890 and companies legislation). Key features include authority (actual—express or implied—and apparent/ostensible), the principal’s ability to be bound or acquire rights through the agent (including by ratification),...

Commercial agent–principal relationship under the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993: duties, good faith, commission, and termination

Published by a LexisNexis Commercial expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note outlines how the relationship between a commercial agent and a principal is regulated by the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993, SI 1993/3053 (the Commercial Agents Regulations). For practical guidance on applying the Commercial Agents Regulations, see Practice Note: Commercial Agency.

Background

The Commercial Agents Regulations took effect on 1 January 1994, implementing Council Directive 86/653/EEC (OJ L 382/17), the EU Commercial Agents Directive. Although derived from EU law, the Regulations were preserved by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended) from 11 pm on 31 December 2020 (IP completion day). They were not revoked by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (REUL(RR)A 2023) and, from 1 January 2024, are treated as assimilated law in the UK. For further details, see Practice Notes: Introduction to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 and Assimilated law. For additional material on the EU Commercial Agents Directive, see Practice Note: The EU Commercial Agents Directive. This Practice Note also refers to EU case law, which bound the UK courts’ approach to the application and interpretation of the Commercial Agents Regulations up to IP completion day...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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