Power of attorney

Power of attorney / Vollmacht

February 09, 2024

A power of attorney is a right to represent another person established by a legal transaction. It is a unilateral legal transaction, i.e. the authorised person does not need to participate in the authorisation. It can be granted unilaterally, even if the proxy does not wish to do so. The power of attorney can be granted vis-à-vis the authorised person (internal power of attorney) or vis-à-vis a third party, for example the business partner with whom the representative is to conclude a contract on behalf of the represented person (external power of attorney), cf. section 167 of the German Civil Code (BGB). In principle, the power of attorney can be granted informally, i.e. also orally or impliedly. However, there are legal exceptions to this, especially in the case of irrevocable powers of attorney.