Commercial agency in the light of European Union membership

Abstract

The scope of this thesis is to contribute towards the understanding of the current position of Maltese law regarding the activities of the commercial agent and the relationship between the agent and the principal, following the implementation of Directive 86/653 EEC on selfemployed commercial agents. Chapter 1 offers the reader a general background of the notion of agency in a commercial perspective together with an analysis of the various forms of representation agreements which is, a priori, essential in order to establish which legal personalities are encapsulated by the definition of commercial agent. The Directive obliges the member states to include in their national legislation a set of minimum standards which are mandatory and cannot be excluded by the parties to the agreement. The underlying aim and legal concepts of the Directive are meticulously scrutinized in Chapter 2. It is complemented by Chapter 3, where the different ways in which some member states chose to implement the provisions of the Directive into their national laws are examined. Chapter 4 delves into the regulation of commercial agency in Malta today. Whilst seeking to explore the way the Directive was transposed into Maltese law by Act IX of 2003, certain facets of the same Act are critically analyzed. The final and concluding chapter will examine the implications transpiring from the implementation of this EU legislative instrument into Maltese law.