Last Updated on June 28, 2021 by LawEuro
German Civil Code (BGB) German law
Title 13
Agency without specific authorisation
Section 677
Duties of the voluntary agent
A person who conducts a transaction for another person without being instructed by him or otherwise entitled towards him must conduct the business in such a way as the interests of the principal require in view of the real or presumed will of the principal.
Section 678
Agency contrary to the will of the principal
If the assumption of agency is at variance with the real or presumed will of the principal and if the voluntary agent should have realised this, then he is liable to compensate the principal for damage arising from the agency even if he is not otherwise at fault.
Section 679
Irrelevance of the contrary will of the principal
A will of the principal contrary to the agency is disregarded if without the agency a duty of the principal whose fulfilment is in the public interest or a statutory maintenance duty of the principal would not have been fulfilled in good time.
Section 680
Agency to ward off danger
If the voluntary agency is intended to ward off danger threatening the principal, then the voluntary agent is only responsible for deliberate intent and gross negligence.
Section 681
Ancillary duties of the voluntary agent
The voluntary agent must notify the principal, as soon as feasible, of his assumption of the agency and, if postponement does not entail danger, wait for the decision of the principal. Apart from this, the provisions relating to a mandatary in sections 666 to 668 apply to the duties of the voluntary agent with the necessary modifications.
Section 682
Lack of capacity to contract on the part of the voluntary agent
If the voluntary agent lacks capacity to contract or is limited in his capacity to contract, then he is only responsible under the provisions on damages for torts and on the return of unjust enrichment.
Section 683
Reimbursement of expenses
If the assumption of agency corresponds to the interest and the real or presumed will of the principal, then the voluntary agent may demand reimbursement of expenses like a mandatary. In the cases of section 679, the voluntary agent is entitled to this claim, even if the assumption of agency is at variance with the will of the principal.
Section 684
Return of enrichment
If the requirements of section 683 do not apply, then the principal is obliged to return everything that he obtains as a result of the voluntary agency under the provisions on the return of unjust enrichment. If the principal ratifies the agency, then the voluntary agent is entitled to the claim specified in section 683.
Section 685
Intention to donate
(1) The voluntary agent has no claim if he did not intend to demand reimbursement from the principal.
(2) If parents or forebears grant their descendants maintenance, or vice versa, then in case of doubt it is to be assumed that there is no intention to demand reimbursement from the recipient.
Section 686
Error as to the identity of the principal
If the voluntary agent is in error with regard to the identity of the principal, then the real principal is entitled and obliged as the result of agency.
Section 687
False agency without specific authorisation
(1) The provisions of sections 677 to 686 do not apply if a person conducts the transaction of another person in the belief that it is his own.
(2) If a person treats the business of another person as his own although he knows that he is not entitled to do so, then the principal can assert claims resulting from sections 677, 678, 681 and 682. If he asserts them, then he is under a duty to the voluntary agent under section 684 (1).
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