The general and private power of attorney

Sometimes individuals’ resort to issue powers of attorney to perform/carry out some mutual interests such as buying, selling and managing money or performing some works.

Some of these powers of attorney contain an explicit provision not to revoke/dismiss such powers of attorney except in the presence of the two parties, which raise some continues problems encountered by the principal in practical life, which affect the principal as there are some powers of attorney issued in favor of the agent or in favor of a foreigner.

It is not permissible for the principal to revoke/dismiss the agency or restrict it without the agent’s consent; and therefore, it is not permissible to revoke/dismiss the agency without obtaining the consent of the agent.

Since the absolute or abstract application of such provision in its apparent expression may lead to the embodiment of the provision and not approaching it, which results in an imbalance in the relationship between the two parties of the agency agreement and leads to the revoking/dismissing of the power of attorney subject to the absolute will of the agent; which transforms the agency agreement based on the agent’s authority of management as a consensual contract into an agreement closer to the acquiescence agreement.

Therefore, some Egyptian courts tended to solve such problem that faced many and ruled that the power of attorney may be revoked/dismissed even if it explicitly stipulates that it is not revoked/dismissed except with the consent of the two parties; such issue will be later discussed including kinds of the powers of attorney and the cases in which the power of attorney may be revoked/dismissed unilaterally, and the cases in which the power of attorney may be revoked that includes the condition that the revocation/dismissal is not made except in the presence of both parties.

Types of the powers of attorney

General power of attorney:

It is that power of attorney that is issued to a person in all actions such as buying and selling and management.

The principal may, at any time, revoke/dismiss the agency unless the power of attorney expressly states that it may not be revoked/dismissed except in the presence of both parties.

Private power of attorney:

It is that power of attorney that is issued to a person to carry out a specific action as determined in the power of attorney, such as that the principal gives the agent the authority to sell something on his behalf, whether that is in favor of the agent himself (self-sale) or for the benefit of a third party (sale to others) and these powers of attorney stipulate explicitly that it is not permissible to revoke/dismiss it except in the presence of both parties.

Hence, the principal may not revoke/dismiss or restrict the agency without the consent of the agent which the power of attorney is issued in his/her favor and for his/her interest.

The interest means every benefit that accrues to the agent or others from the continuation of the agency which must be determined specifically and explicitly in the agency agreement, and it is the liability of the agent to prove such interest and to provide evidence.

Is it permissible to revoke/dismiss the general power of attorney?

In general, powers of attorney that include a condition that it may not be revoked/dismissed or continued after the death of the principal may not be revoked/dismissed, in the event that the power of attorney includes:

1. It is permissible to self-sell or selling to others.
2. A statement that it is not permissible to revoke/dismiss except with the presence of both parties, or to be finally revoked/dismissed, or the continuation of the power of attorney after the death of the principal or his/her loss of capacity.
3. What indicates the interest of the agent.

It requires the presence of all the parties to the power of attorney collectively to revoke/dismiss it. Otherwise, the principal may revoke/dismiss the power of attorney on his/her own as the principal is entitled to extract a copy of the power of attorney to be revoked/dismissed stating the number and date of the power of attorney, whether it was issued by the Notary Public Office or from one of the diplomatic consults abroad.

Cases in which the power of attorney may be revoked/dismissed unilaterally

The law determined the cases in which the principal can revoke/dismiss the power of attorney unilaterally without the presence of the agent, including:

• The issued power of attorney is a general power of attorney which includes self-selling or selling to others by unilateral will, as long as it does not refer to specific money of the principal’s money.
• There is no condition that the power of attorney may not be revoked/dismissed except in the presence of both parties.
• There is no condition for the continuation of the power of attorney after the death of the principal or his/her loss of capacity.

Cases in which it is permissible to revoke/dismiss the power of attorney that includes the condition that it may not be revoked/dismissed except in the presence of both parties

It is legally established, even if the second paragraph of Article (715) of the Egyptian Civil Code, which stipulates that if the agency is issued in favor of the agent or in favor of a foreigner, the principal may not revoke/dismiss or restrict the agency without the consent of the agent, and therefore it is not permissible to revoke/dismiss the agent.

Then, the absolute or abstract application of the provision in its apparent expression may lead to the embodiment of the provision and not approaching it, and it results in imbalance in the relationship between the two parties to the agency agreement and leads to the revocation/dismissal of the power of attorney subject to the absolute agent’s authority of management as a consensual contract into an agreement closer to the acquiescence agreement.

Therefore, the Egyptian courts tended to establish a judicial principle to solve such problem by ruling that the revocation/dismissal of the power of attorney, even if it included a condition that it may not be revoked/dismissed except in the presence of both parties.

In the rationale of the courts’ rulings, the court decided to decipher the semantics of the second paragraph of Article (715) of the Egyptian Civil Code by examining the conditions and circumstances that surrounded the issuance of that agency through which it was issued, the motive for that.

The extent of its survival, and the purpose according to the reality of the situation, and whether there is an interest for the agent, and whether the agent has affected the principal as a result of this power of attorney, and has the relationship become not surrounded by the moral motive for which the agency was issued, and the agent has become unqualified for managing the principal’s money or disposing of it, whether for himself/herself or for others.

What is the role of the law firm in canceling the general and private power of attorney?

All that was previously explained are the legal reasons for canceling general and private powers of attorney, and we will discuss the role of the law firm in the process of canceling the general and private powers of attorney previously explained:

1. The client cannot make a general or special power of attorney without legal review from one of the attorneys specializing in power of attorney, whether there is material or moral harm to him behind making this power of attorney, and studying the matter from all aspects.
2. The law firm provides some solutions for the client in the event that the general or special power of attorney harms the client’s interest, so it:

• Submitting a complaint to the Real Estate Registry Office accompanied by some judicial rulings.
• Submitting a report to the competent authorities from the Ministry of Justice and the Public Prosecutor’s Office to pressure the opponent.
• A civil lawsuit was filed to cancel the general and private power of attorney. This case was ruled in some courts to cancel the power of attorney due to harm to the client.