Section 7 of the BC Power of Attorney Act: what does it say and why does it say it?

• Published in: Trusts & trustees Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 307 - 318
• Main Author: Nitikman, Joel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 01-05-2020; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Charitable contributions; Deeds; Exceptions (Law); Executions (Law); Laws, regulations and rules; Limited partnerships; Names; Nondisclosure agreements; Power of attorney; United Kingdom > UK; British Columbia Canada; Canada
• ISSN: 1363-1780; 1752-2110
• DOI: 10.1093/tandt/ttaa011

Abstract
For a very long time, the common law has provided that an agent does not have the authority to sign a sealed document on behalf of the agent’s principal unless the principal granted authority to the agent to do so under seal. It also provides that an agent who enters into a sealed contract becomes a party personally to the contract and the principal is not a party to the so-called sealed contract rule. This article suggests that both common-law rules have been overtaken by certain legislative provisions in force in British Columbia (BC). In particular, the second rule may not have been in force in the UK since the coming-into-force in 1881 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, the operative part of which has been enacted in BC, various states of Australia, New Zealand and various other Commonwealth countries. The article goes on to suggest that the one UK decision relied on by a leading textbook in support of the continuing validity of the sealed contract rule is not a valid authority on that point.