ABSTRACT
Agency is a fundamental legal institution. It enables one individual (the principal) to be assisted by another (the agent), who carries out legal actions for him and in his name, though the principal does not physically participate in the said actions and is not even present when they are carried out. This is so despite the basic legal principle that one’s actions govern his
own legal status, and not that of his fellow. For example, the sale of a property is usually valid only if carried out by its owner, and not a third party; but will be valid if the seller is the owner’s agent. Similarly, if a betrothal was carried out vis-à-vis woman A, ordinarily, the betrothal will bind woman A, unless woman A serves as a proxy for woman B, in which case woman B has indeed been betrothed.
