Delegation is a term used in the law of contracts to describe the act of giving another person the responsibility of carrying out the performance agreed to in a contract. Three parties are concerned with this act - the party who had incurred the obligation to perform under the contract is called the delegator; the party who assumes the responsibility of performing this duty is called the delegatee; and the party to whom this performance is owed is called the obligee. Law (a loanword from Old Norse lag), in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments for those who do not follow... A contract is any promise or set of promises made by one party to another for the breach of which the law provides a remedy. ...

Delegable contracts

A delegation will be null and void if it poses any threat to the commercially reasonable expectations of the obligee. For example, a task requiring specialized skills or based on the unique characteristics of the promisee can not be delegated. If Bill Clinton were hired to make a speech, he could not delegate the task to another person, even if the other person would give the same speech, word for word. Order: 42nd President Vice President: Al Gore Term of office: January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001 Preceded by: George H. W. Bush Succeeded by: George W. Bush Date of birth: August 19, 1946 Place of birth: Hope, Arkansas First Lady: Hillary Rodham Clinton Political party: Democratic William Jefferson Clinton (born...

However, a delegation of performance that does not pose such a threat will be held to be valid. In such a case, the obligee will under an affirmative duty to cooperate with the delegatee to the extent necessary for the fulfillment of the delegator's obligations under the contract.

Breach of a delegated contract

If the delagatee fails to perform satisfactorily, the obligee may elect to treat this failure as a breach of the original contract by the delegator or may assert himself as a third party beneficiary of the contract between the delagator and the delegatee, and can claim all remedies due to a third party beneficiary.

If the delegation is without consideration, the delagator remains liable for nonperformance, while the delagatee will not be liable to anyone for anything. Unlike an assignment, a delegation is virtually always for consideration, and never donative - few people are going to accept the charitable offer to perform a task contracted to someone else. (Note, Consideration under English law is dealt with separately) Consideration is a central concept in the common law of contracts. ...

Compare: assignment

A parallel concept to delegation is assignment , which occurs when one party transfers his present rights to receive the benefits accruing to the assignor under that contract. A delegation and an assignment can be accomplished at the same time, although the right to sue for nonpayment always stays with delagator. Under the common law, a contract clause prohibiting assignment also prohibits delegation. Another common law rule requires that a party to a contract can not delegate performance that involves special skills or reputation (although it is possible to have a novation under such circumstances). An assignment is a term used with similar meanings in the law of contracts and in the law of real estate. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Novation, or its full title: Novation Electronic Music Systems, is an English company founded in 1992 and largely produces synthesizers. ...