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Key definition
Scope definition

What does Scope mean? Scope (often called the scope of works) describes, in construction and engineering practice, the package of work the contractor must perform and any constraints or methods required. It is not defined by legislation and has no universal legal meaning; its content is contractual and is interpreted using ordinary principles of contract construction across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. In the NEC4 suite, Scope (capitalised) is a defined term that specifies and describes the work the Contractor is to undertake and any constraints on how it Provides the Works, for example required standards, design responsibility, performance criteria,...

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Agency authority under English law: actual, apparent and customary authority; powers of attorney; company and partnership agents; limits, remedies and ratification; joint agency; agency of necessity; and termination.

Practice notes
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This Practice Note outlines the character and extent of an agent’s authority, bestowed by the principal, and recognises certain constraints and qualifications imposed upon that authority in practice.

It reviews the varieties of an agent’s authority, such as actual, apparent and customary authority, and explains their operation. It also addresses authority conferred through a power of attorney arrangement. It examines the consequences of an agent exceeding its authority, whether such acts bind the principal in law, and the remedies open to a principal when an agent goes beyond its mandate, including options for redress.

Authority of agent

An agent’s authority derives solely from its own principal.

In commercial contexts, the scope of authority principals grant to agents typically comprises one or more of these functions and activities: to introduce, conclude, or otherwise handle contracts between the principal and customers.

An agent is not, of itself, empowered to bind a principal in contractual dealings; this turns on the character of the agent’s appointment and the extent of authority the principal affords the agent in the particular circumstances.

If such authority is present, the agent has power to bind the principal to a contract accordingly...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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