Reviewed case brief
Natal Land & Colonization Co v Pauline Colliery & Development Syndicate
[1904] AC 120
The Privy Council held that a company cannot ratify a contract made on its behalf before incorporation. The doctrine of ratification in agency law requires that the principal must have been in existence at the time the agent acted; a company that did not exist at the time of contracting was never a
- Court
- Privy Council
- Year
- 1904
- Subjects
- Company Law
- Reviewed
- 2026-06-30
Rule established
A company cannot ratify a pre-incorporation contract because no principal existed at the time the contract was made; ratification requires a principal in existence at the time of the agent's act
Facts
Issues
Held
Ratio decidendi
How to use it in an exam
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