ratification
Under ss.196 to 200 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, where acts are done by one person on behalf of another without his knowledge or authority, the other may ratify or disown them. Ratification relates back: the act is treated as if it had been authorised from the start. It may be express or implied by conduct (s.197).
Conditions: the agent must have acted on behalf of the principal; the principal must have existed and been competent when the act was done; ratification must be with full knowledge of the facts (s.198); the whole transaction must be ratified, not part (s.199); and ratification cannot injure a third person's rights (s.200). A void act, or an act the principal could not lawfully have done, cannot be ratified. In treaty law, ratification means a State's final consent to be bound after signature.
Example
The company accepted the goods knowing the manager had ordered them without authority, which was implied ratification under s.197.
In Indian law
- Sections 196–200, Indian Contract Act, 1872
- Kelner v. Baxter (English, 1866): a company cannot ratify a contract made before its incorporation
See also
Read more in the study notes
- Government contracts and state liability: the administrative-law angle (Administrative Law)
- Need for ADR, international commitments and suitability of disputes (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
- The right of private defence (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita)
- Offences relating to elections, coin and currency (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita)
- Co-operative societies (Business Environment)
- Promoters: position, duties and liabilities (Company Law)