Ostensible Authority in UK Law

An "apparent" or "ostensible" authority, on the other hand, is a legal relationship between the principal and the contractor created by a representation, made by the principal to the contractor intended to be and in fact acted upon by the contractor, that the agent has authority to enter on behalf of the principal into a contract of a kind within the scope of the "apparent" authority, so as to render the principal liable to perform any obligations imposed upon him by such contract.

It is express when it is given by express words, such as when a board of directors pass a resolution which authorises two of their number to sign cheques. It is implied when it is inferred from the conduct of the parties and the circumstances of the cape, such as when the board of directors appoint one of their number to be managing director. They thereby impliedly authorise him to do all such things as fall within the usual scope of that office.

Ostensible or apparent authority is the authority of an agent as it appears to others. Thus, when the board appoint one of their number to be managing director, they invest him not only with implied authority, but also with ostensible authority to do all such things as fall within the usual scope of that office. Other people who see him acting as managing director are entitled to assume that he has the usual authority of a managing director.

In the commonly encountered case, the ostensible authority is general in character, arising when the principal has placed the agent in a position which in the outside world is generally regarded as carrying authority to enter into transactions of the kind in question. Ostensible general authority may also arise where the agent has had a course of dealing with a particular contractor and the principal has acquiesced in this course of dealing and honoured transactions arising out of it.

As Lord Simonds explained in Morris v Kanssen [1946] AC 459, 475, both the indoor management rule and the doctrine of ostensible authority allow the smooth operation of business by protecting those who are entitled to assume that the person with whom they are dealing has the authority which he claims. But this general principle cannot be invoked if he who would invoke it is put upon inquiry.

In my opinion a planning permission covers work which is specified in the detailed plans and anyimmaterial variation therein. I do not use the words "de minimis" because that would be misleading. There are many matters which public authorities can now delegate to their officers. If an officer, acting within the scope of his ostensible authority, makes a representation on which another acts, then a public authority may be bound by it, just as much as a private concern would be.

Donegal's argument seems to be that the ostensible authority of Mr Kasonde derives from his usual authority as Minister of Finance, but this does not seem to me to answer an objection that his usual authority was restricted by the Constitution. This is not a case like Robertson v Minister of Pensions, [1949] 1 KB 227, which Donegal cite in their submissions, where Denning J could say at (p232) of a subject's dealings with a government department,