foreign principal

foreign principal

a person outside the UK instructing an agent (see AGENCY) within the UK. It used to be the case that where an agent acting for a foreign principal entered into a contract with a third party, there was a strong presumption that there was no privity between the foreign principal and the third party, with the consequence that the agent might be made personally liable on the contract. This presumption has now weakened, to the extent that the existence of a foreign principal is regarded as one factor only to be taken into account in construing the parties' agreement.