The Civil Code of the Russian Federation regulates how to draw up various types of powers of attorney (including how to draw up a general power of attorney). The document is intended for transmission by one person to another. A power of attorney is a written authorization. It is used in representation before a third (third) person. A notarized power of attorney to conclude a transaction may be transferred by the principal directly to a third party participating in the transaction.
Due to the fact that the written authority is considered a unilateral transaction, the will of the principal is sufficient for its occurrence. However, the presence of a representative is not necessary. The notarized power of attorney provides in its content the scope of actions that are allowed to be performed by the representative. The duties and rights of the person transferring authority arise as a result of activities performed by his representative on his behalf. For the representative himself, legal consequences do not occur.
A notarized power of attorney is necessary for a certain number of transactions, for which the law requires a mandatory form certified by a notary. Exceptions are cases provided for by law. In special situations, the law permits the execution of a power of attorney not by a notary, but by another person (official) authorized to perform such actions. The Civil Code defines a list of documents having the status of written authority.
The notarized power of attorney, in accordance with the law, can be revoked by the principal at any time. In this case, the representative may also abandon the authority at any time. Cancellation of a notarized power of attorney is carried out by means of an appropriate order. The person who transferred the authority (or his successor) is obliged to inform the representative and those persons (person) about whom this proxy represented the implementation of this order. All obligations and rights that have been formed as a result of the activities of the authorized person, before he became aware of or should become aware of the cancellation, retain legal force for the principal or its successors. An exception may be cases where third parties were or should have become aware of the implementation of the termination of written authority. After the termination of the notarized power of attorney, the representative or his successors must return the document.
The period of validity of a written authority from the date of commission shall not exceed three years. If the deadline is not specified, the document remains valid for a year. The power of attorney is invalid, in which the date of its preparation is not indicated. If the written authority providing for the performance of activities outside of Russia does not indicate the validity period, then the legal force of the document remains until the cancellation by the principal.
A representative who is vested with certain powers is required to perform all the actions specified in the document personally. It is allowed to transfer powers to another person, provided that the power of attorney contains information about the right of transfer, or in view of circumstances that force the representative to transfer his functions to another person in the interests of the principal. When delegating authority, the representative must inform the principal of this. In this case, all the necessary information is provided about the person who received the authority. A new document of submission must be certified by a notary public. The validity period shall not be longer than the period established for the previous written authorization.
The power of attorney is terminated as a result of the expiration of the term, refusal of the representative’s functions, cancellation, incapacity, death or recognition of the absence of an unknown principal or representative, as well as after termination of legal activity of a person who was a representative or a principal.