literature Mainland China English summary

Attribution and Liability for Ultra Vires Representative Acts

论越权代表行为的效果归属与责任承担——以法释〔2023〕13号第20条为中心

Analyzes Article 20 of the Contract Book Interpretation and argues that ultra vires representative contracts are pending attribution rather than automatically invalid.

Brief English Introduction

Xie explains that where a legal representative exceeds statutory limits, the counterparty may have a reasonable-review duty. Failure to satisfy that duty does not necessarily make the contract void from the start; rather, attribution to the legal person may depend on ratification.

Use It For

Use it to move students beyond the binary of “company bound” versus “contract void.”

Teaching Notes

Ask students what the pending-attribution model does to the incentives of the company, representative, and counterparty.