POWER OF ATTORNEY, or Letter of Attorney, is a deed which authorises a person to act as the agent or attorney of the person who executes or grants it. The deed may be in the form of an indenture or a deed-poll, and it may confer a general authority of agency or a special authority. A general power authorises the agent to act generally on behalf of the principal, while a special power only authorises an agency limited to certain prescribed matters. The law relating to powers of attorney is but an incident in the general law of principal and agent [see AGENCY]. The essential charac teristic of a power of attorney is that it is an instrument under seal, and it is therefore the means whereby a person may authorise another to execute a deed on his behalf, as, for example, to execute a deed of conveyance to a purchaser of land, or a transfer to a purchaser of shares. The principal is frequently referred to as the " donor" of the power, and the agent as the " donee." Section 48 of the Conveyancing Act, 1881, provides for the deposit in the Supreme Court of instruments creating powers of attorney. Sections 46 and 47 relate to the execution of deeds under a power and to payment thereunder by the attorney. These two sections are to the following effect :—The donee of a power may, if he thinks fit, execute or do any assurance, instrument, or thing in and with his own name and signature and his own seal, where sealing is required, by the authority of the donor of the power. Every assurance, instrument, and thing so executed and done is as effectual in law to all intents as if it had been executed or done by the donee of the power in the name and with the signature and seal of the donor thereof. And this applies to powers of attorney created by instruments executed either before or after the commencement of the Act. Any person who makes or does any payment or act in good faith, in pursuance of a power of attorney, is not liable in respect thereof by reason that before the pay ment or act the donor of the power had died or become lunatic, of unsound mind, or bankrupt, or had revoked the power, if the fact of death, lunacy, unsoundness of mind, bankruptcy, or revocation was not at the time of the payment or act known to the person making or doing it. But this rule does not affect any right against the payee of any person interested in any money so paid ; for that person always has the like remedy against the payee as he would have had against the payer if the payment had not been made by him. This, however, applies only
to payments and acts made and done after the commencement of the Act. The effect of a power of attorney when made irrevocable is dealt with in sections 8 and 9 of the Conveyancing Act, 1882. The following is the purport of these sec tions :—If a power of attorney, given for valuable consideration, is in the instrument creating the power expressed to be irrevocable, then, in favour of a purchaser who derives his title thereunder—(i.) The power cannot be revoked at any time, either by anything done by the donor without the concurrence of the donee, or by the death, marriage, lunacy, unsoundness of mind, or bankruptcy of the donor : and (ii.) Any act done at any time by the donee, in pursuance of the power, will be as valid as if anything done by the donor without the concurrence of the donee, or the death, marriage, lunacy, unsoundness of mind, or bankruptcy of the donor, had not been done or happened : and (iii.) Neither the donee nor the purchaser will at any time be prejudicially affected by notice of anything done by the donor without the concurrence of the donee, or of the death, marriage, lunacy, unsoundness of mind, or bankruptcy of the donor. If a power of attorney, whether given for valuable consideration or not, is in the instrument creating the power expressed to be irrevocable for a fixed time therein specified, not exesgd ing one year from the date of the instrument, then, in favour of a purcl&ser who derives his title thereunder—(i.) The power cannot be revoked, for and during that fixed time, either by anything done by the donor without the con currence of the donee, or by the death, marriage, lunacy, unsoundness of mind, or bankruptcy of the donor : and (ii.) Any act done within that fixed time by the donee, in pursuance of the power, will be as valid as if anything done by the donor without the concurrence of the donee, or the death, marriage, lunacy, unsoundness of mind, or bankniptcy of the donor, had not been done or happened : and (iii.) Neither the donee nor the purchaser will at any time be prejudicially affected by notice either during or after that fixed thne of anything done by the donor during that fixed time, without the concurrence of the donee, or of the death, marriage, lunacy, unsoundness of mind, or bankruptcy of the donor within that fixed thne. These two sections apply only to powers of attorney created by instruments executed after the commencement of this Act.