英國代理商制度發展之研究

A Legal Study on the UK Commercial Agency Law

宋時晴(Shih-Ching Sung)

指導教授 ： 陳自強

國立臺灣大學/法律學院/法律學研究所/碩士(2015年)

https://doi.org/10.6342/NTU.2015.02683

摘要

中文摘要
代理商是隨著全球經濟與貿易蓬勃發展下所竄起之新型態商業契約。代理商之主要任務係替供應商或製造商（即委託人）將所生產之商品或服務行銷至市場上，為委託人創造或發展出一定之顧客群與商譽，而委託人再支付予代理商交易之佣金。代理商屬於「銷售中間人」之一種，其與委託人間通常有持續且經常之合作關係，被委託人納入與整合在商品之銷售體系中。
一九八六年歐盟頒布了代理商指令，其以大陸法系法理為基礎，目的係為了強化對代理商之保護以及調和各成員國關於代理商之內國法。在此之前，許多歐洲國家在德國之帶領下，已多有對代理商進行立法保護，而英國則並無出現代理商之特別立法，代理商與其他代理型態相同，皆適用普通法代理原則；此外，大陸法系法理普遍認為代理商是在代理商關係中較弱勢之一方，而在英國普通法下，則認為委託人才是較需要保護者，甚至對代理商施加廣泛之信賴義務。
英國在面對轉化指令之要求後，於一九九三年頒布了與代理商指令條文幾乎相同之代理商條例，使得傳統以來皆適用普通法代理原則之代理商，開始有獨立之成文法規範；大陸法系法理也因此被導入英國，包括廣泛之誠信原則、強化對代理商之保護等，對學術界及司法實務均帶來不小之影響與衝擊。
本論文試圖從普通法代理原則開始談起，包括代理之概念、代理之成立、代理契約期間與消滅後之當事人間權利義務等，並觀察轉化代理商指令後之英國代理商制度之發展，特別是受到大陸法系影響最深之當事人間的誠信履約義務，以及契約消滅後之補償與賠償權等。
除了法律規定外，英國法院判決見解中對代理商條例條文之解釋適用，以及對大陸法系法理所採之態度，亦為建構出英國目前整體之代理商制度現況以及研究未來英國代理商制度發展方向之重要來源。

關鍵字

代理商 ； 銷售中間人 ； 歐盟代理商指令 ； 英國代理商條例 ； 普通法代理原則

並列摘要

ABSTRACT
With the global economy and international trade vigorously developed, a new type of commercial contract called “Commercial agency”, was created. Commercial agents are representatives whose main role is to help supplier, manufacturers (principals) to market, promote their goods and services, and to build, develop a customer base or goodwill for their principals in return for commissions on sales. Commercial agents are defined as “Middleman”, who usually having continuing and frequent collaboration relationship with their principals, and being integrated into the sales system of the goods.
In 1986, the EEC Council of Ministers enacted the Directive on self-employed commercial agents. Based on civil law rational, the objectives of the Directive are to reinforce the protection of commercial agents as well as harmonise the national laws of the Member States regulating the relationship between commercial agents and their principals. Prior to the implementation of the Directive, followed by Germany, many European countries had had legislative protection towards commercial agents. However, in the UK, commercial agents were not recognized as a separate category from other agents and neither had statutory protection. The relationship between commercial agents and principals was governed by the common law rules on agency. Moreover, civil law rational regarded commercial agents as the weaker party in the commercial agency relationship, in the UK however, traditional common law rules regarded principals as the party in need of protection, even imposed a wide range of fiduciary duties on commercial agents.
The implementation of the Directive in the UK has been done via the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993, which copy almost word for word the civilian-based Directive. The Agency Regulations provide commercial agents with a legal status regulated by its own text. As a result, civil law rational such as the duty of good faith, the protection towards the commercial agents, are brought to the UK and bring significant impact and change to the UK common law rules of agency.
This paper will start from the study of the common law rules of agency, including the concept of agency, creation of agency, the relationship between agents and principals during the agency contract and after the agency contract being terminated. And the main purpose of this paper is to show how and to what extent the Directive effects the UK common law rules of agency, especially will focusing on the obligation of the good faith and the right to receive indemnity/compensation after the termination.
In addition to the Agency Regulations, the interpretation and application of alien concepts in the Agency Regulations as well as the attitude towards civil law rational made by the courts, are important resources to form the whole commercial agency law in the present UK and to analysis future development.

並列關鍵字

Commercial Agency ； Self-employed Directive ； Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 ； Common Law Rules of Agency

參考文獻

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