The general power of attorney in the doctrine of mandate

Abstract

It is reasonably safe to argue that the most commonly used vehicle for avoiding complications in the legal field and as well as for the facilitating the carrying out of commercial transactions is the contract of mandate. The main form of its expression is written, and the widest extent of its conception is the general power of attorney, or as it has come to take its place in modern everyday parlance - the "procura generali". Any discussion of the procura generali immediately forces our mind the image of the stenciled form employed by most legal practitioners with its exhaustive list of powers to represent. Armed with this document, individuals have been able to solve problems when the principal to an agreement cannot be present, but it is, understandably enough, also an opportunity for an unscrupulous representative to take advantage of his "free hand". As a result of this, the procura generali has been seen by many as a mixed blessing. The advantages are many, but so are the disadvantages of having a system of representation that is not adequately protected by law. Sometimes, the procura generali has led to abuse and to mis-use and our legal system does not go far enough to protect, in the first place, the mandatory from the mandator and secondly, but just as seriously, is not sufficient to protect the third party from any fraudulent deals of the mandatory.