commercial agent

In law, agency is the relationship where one person, the principal, engages another, the agent, to act on their behalf. This relationship governs how the agent interacts with third parties concerning the principal's business. Agents have the legal capacity to act for the principal, creating a twofold relationship. Internally, the agent owes duties of diligence, accounting, and good faith to the principal. Externally, the agent's actions can affect the principal's legal position, sometimes even creating "apparent authority" for transactions the agent shouldn't undertake.1

Commercial agents, specifically, negotiate and conclude contracts for their principals. While their independence varies, they are never entirely free from the principal's influence. Some legal systems, like Italian law, may limit a commercial agent's activities to a specific geographic region. Agency is a vital part of modern legal systems, facilitating the division of labor and extending a principal's sphere of activity.21