Lawyers advising agents or principals on the application of the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 will be aware of the need to keep up to date with case law in this area. Although the regulations have been in force since the mid-1990s, they are regularly being interpreted by the courts.
In general terms, the regulations provide protection for most agents who have been appointed to negotiate or conclude the sale or purchase of goods on behalf of a principal. The regulations imply specific terms to a contract between a commercial agent and a principal that cannot be contracted out of and are particularly notorious for their compensation provisions on termination. Whenever a client is appointing an agent to sell or market goods in the UK (or elsewhere in Europe) or a client is being appointed as an agent, the impact of the regulations or any similar regulations in Europe should be considered.
