Q2.

Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd. maintains a posh and luxurious branch office in Banani, Dhaka under a Contract of Tenancy with the landlord of the premises. The tenancy in question is a long one (for a period of 10 years) because the Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd paid Tk. 25,00,000/- as advance to the landlord and also invested quite a sum of money for facing-up and internal decorations of their branch office too.

One morning, the Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd. received a notice from the Government of Bangladesh addressed to their landlord for payment of arrear revenue of Tk. 5,05,000 that remain unpaid/due to the landlord for a considerable period of time and the notice also signifies that in the event of failure to pay in time the Government of Bangladesh shall cancel the landlords lease and take position of the property (the branch office of Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd.) . Thus, the management of Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd. not finding the landlord in Bangladesh, immediately paid the arrear government revenue in time in order to avoid any untoward situation, eviction from the property and also to protect their own interest. Afterwards, when the Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd. ask for reimbursement from the landlord (by deducting the amount from monthly rent) landlord objected by saying that payment of arrear revenue by the Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd was irregular and if they did so, they did that on their account .The landlord further argued that neither the arrear revenue was due to the Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd. nor their exist any such obligation in the Contract of Tenancy that they (DBBL) would have to pay for him.

Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd. is eager to realize the money paid by them, advice them.

Answer: Under law of Agency section 182, An Agent is a person employed to do any act for another or to represent another dealings with third person. The person for whom such act is done or who is so represented is called the principal. The function of agent is to bring about contractual relations between the principal and third parties.

As, this case require a solution or advise, we have gathered some major facts regarding each of the parties influenced. Dutch Bangla bank LTD acquired a Contract of Tenancy for a limited time period of 10 years with investment of 2,500,000 Security deposit or advance on an agreement between landlord and DBBL. Therefore, DBBL here can be referred as Agency. Dutch bangle Bank limited is now one of the successful bank in Bangladesh. For business purpose and for better and faster transaction they have taken a branch in Banani.

Later, they found that the Arrear Revenue of TK 505,000 is Due to Government of Bangladesh and which was addressed to landlord where the landlord are said to be absent while it was happed. While the DBBL pays the amount to avoid any untoward situation. Moreover in this case, the terms and conditions for Contract of Tenancy are not given; the reimbursement might not or be the exact way to solve this problem. Therefore, we have some Agency law which might help us to understand this situation from different point of view.

An agency of necessity is another way in which an agency can arise by operation of law. Its origins can be found in mercantile law, and in shipping law in particular. It may arise where a person is faced with an emergency in which the property or interests of another person are in imminent jeopardy and, in order to preserve that property or those interests, it becomes necessary to act for that person without his authority. An agency of necessity probably only applies where there is already some existing contractual relationship between the parties, as the law is highly unlikely to allow a person to be bound by the act of a complete stranger. An agency by necessity may be created if the following three conditions are met:-

1)

It

is

impossible

for

the

agent

to

get

the

principal's

instruction

2) The agent's action is necessary, in the circumstances, in order to prevent loss to the principal with respect to the interest committed to his charge e.g. when an agent sells perishable goods belonging to his principal to prevent from rotting.

3) The agent of necessity must have acted in good faith. In an emergency an agent has authority to do all such acts for the purpose of protecting his principal from loss as would be done by a person of ordinary prudence.

In the following case, there are 3 parties involved. 1. The landlord, 2. Dutch Bangla Bank LTD. and lastly The Government of Bangladesh. When the government people sent a notice to the bank, the bank authority tried to find the landlord but they could not. This fact fulfills the first criteria of being an agency by necessity. Secondly, there was a strict notice from the government that if unable to pay the due money, they will take over the land. Therefore, when DBBL paid the money, they simply paid to save the property which they rented from the landlord. This fulfills the second criteria. Lastly, DBBL authority paid the money in good faith that the landlord will give reimbursement as they acted on his behalf here and to save their own property also. Therefore, DBBL here was an agency of necessity as the accord of the situation. If any of the three criteria was not fulfilled it would have become a complete different case.

To conclude, we can say that as an emergency and necessity DBBL authority acted and became the agency by necessity of the landlord. As the landlord said that neither the arrear revenue was due to the Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd. nor there exist any such obligation in the Contract of Tenancy that they (DBBL) would have to pay for him, his argument is here invalid and according to the Agency law and the agency by necessity rule, he has to pay the money to DBBL which DBBL authority paid to the government to protect the land and their office.