qui facit per alium facit per se

The maxim is the basis of the principal's liability for acts of his agent and, more broadly, of vicarious liability. When a person authorises another to act for him, the acts done within that authority are treated in law as his own. A principal is therefore bound by contracts his agent makes within authority and is liable for wrongs committed by the agent in the course of the agency.

In tort it works alongside respondeat superior, which makes an employer liable for torts committed by an employee in the course of employment. In criminal law the maxim has limited use, because criminal liability generally needs personal mens rea, except under special statutes.

Example

Applying qui facit per alium facit per se, the firm was bound by the contract its manager signed within his authority.

In Indian law

• s.226, Indian Contract Act, 1872 (enforcement and consequences of agent's contracts)

See also

vicarious liability · respondeat superior · agency

Read more in the study notes

• Agency: creation and kinds of agents (Contract II)
• Strict liability and vicarious liability (Jurisprudence)
• Vicarious liability (Law of Torts)