ABSTRACT
This chapter covers legal relationships at auction. The focus is on legal relationships at English auction, while legal relationships at Dutch auction are covered insofar as they depart from the English auction. Key auction participants are outlined in the first section. The second section covers objects that can be sold at auctions. The third section covers the structure of auction relationships. The existing literature is inconsistent on the number and legal nature of relationships at auction. This chapter aims to identify the basic legal relationships at auction, define their legal nature and systematise basic rights and duties of the parties thereof. This chapter argues that a typical auction sale consists of at least four basic legal relationships: the consignment agreement between the seller/consignor and the auctioneer, the contract between the auctioneer and the bidders, the agreement between the bidders and the sale contract. The fourth section covers peculiarities of the legal relationships at Dutch auction. The conclusion summarises the main findings of the chapter.
