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POWERS OF ATTORNEY (CHAPTER 13)

LAWS OF BRUNEI

CHAPTER 13

POWERS OF ATTORNEY

2 of 1921

(Cap. 13 of 1951)

1984 Ed. Cap. 13

Amended by

6 of 1956

S 99/59

S 6/94

REVISED EDITION 2002

(15th April 2002)

Section

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1. Citation and interpretation.

2. Attestation of powers of attorney.

3. Deposit of power of attorney.

4. Revocation.

5. Provisions in favour of a purchaser in the case of powers ofattorney given for valuable consideration.

6. Provisions in favour of a purchaser in the case of powers ofattorney expressed to be irrevocable for a fixed time.

7. Payment by attorney under power without notice of death etc.good.

8. Register of powers of attorney and inspection of register.

9. Office copies as evidence.

10. Searches.

11. Power to make regulations.

________________________

POWERS OF ATTORNEY ACT

An Act to provide for the attestation and registration of powers of attorney

Commencement: 1st January 1922

Citation and interpretation.

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Powers of Attorney Act.

(2) In this Act, “Registrar” means the Attorney General or anyfit and proper person or persons appointed by him by notification in the Gazette to carry out the powers and duties conferred on and imposed uponthe Registrar under this Act.

[S 6/94]

Attestation of powers of attorney.

2. No instrument purporting to create a power of attorney executedeither before or after the commencement of this Act shall have any validity tocreate such power within Brunei Darussalam unless the execution of theinstrument be verified by the attestation of one or more witnesses.

Deposit of power of attorney.

3. (1) No instrument purporting to create a power of attorney shall,after the commencement of this Act, have any validity to create such powerwithin Brunei Darussalam until —

(a) such instrument; or

(b) if such instrument be registered in the Republic of Singapore or in Malaysia, an office copy thereof; or

(c) a true copy of the said instrument or office copy, as the case maybe, duly compared therewith and marked by the Registrar with the words“true copy”,

[S 6/94]

has been deposited in the office of the Registrar:

[S 6/94]

Provided that where the Registrar has, in exercise of powers under section 1(2), delegated his powers and duties to any person, such person shall at the end of each month forward to the Registrar a return of all such instruments deposited and registered in the office of such person during such month, and every such return shall give short particulars of all such instruments so deposited together with particulars of the revocation or other determination of any instrument previously deposited in such office under the provisions of this Act. The particulars contained in every such return shall be entered in the register kept in the office of the Registrar as if the instruments to which they refer had been deposited in that office.

[S 6/94]

(2) There shall be payable in respect of the deposit of documents underthis section a fee.

[S 6/94]

Revocation.

4. Every instrument purporting to create a power of attorney which hasbeen or of which an office copy or a true copy has been deposited in the officeof the Registrar in accordance with section 3, whether before or after thecommencement of this Act shall, so far as the said instrument is valid and sofar as may be compatible with the terms of such instrument, continue in forceuntil notice in writing of the revocation thereof by the donor, or of therenunciation thereof by the donee, has been deposited in the said office oreither the donor or the donee has died or the donee has become of unsound mind,or the donor has been adjudicated an insolvent or of unsound mind or a receivingorder has made against him in bankruptcy.

[S 6/94]

Provisions in favour of a purchaser in the case of powers of attorney given for valuable consideration.

5. (1) If a power of attorney given for valuable consideration is inthe instrument creating the power expressed to be irrevocable, then, in favourof a purchaser —

(a) the power shall not be revoked at any time, either byanything done by the donor of the power without the concurrence of the donee of the power, or by the death, marriage, lunacy, unsoundness of mind, orbankruptcy of the donor of the power; and

(b) any act done at any time by the donee of the power, in pursuanceof the power, shall be as valid as if anything done by the donor of the powerwithout the concurrence of the donee of the power, or the death, marriage, lunacy, unsoundness of mind, or bankruptcy of the donor of the power, hadnot been done or happened; and

(c) neither the donee of the power, nor the purchaser, shall at anytime be prejudicially affected by notice of anything done by the donor of thepower, without the concurrence of the donee of the power, or of the death,marriage, lunacy, unsoundness of mind, or bankruptcy of the donor of thepower.

(2) This section applies to powers of attorney created by instrumentsexecuted either before or after the commencement of this Act.

Provisions in favour of a purchaser in the case of powers of attorneyexpressed to be irrevocable for a fixed time.

6. (1) If a power of attorney, whether given for valuableconsideration or not, is in the instrument creating the power expressed to beirrevocable for a fixed time therein specified, then, in favour of a purchaser—

(a) the power shall not be revoked, for and during that fixed time,either by anything done by the donor of the power without the concurrence of thedonee of the power, or by the death, marriage, lunacy, unsoundness of mind, or bankruptcy of the donor of the power; and

(b) any act done within that fixed time, by the donee of the powerin pursuance of the power, shall be as valid as if anything done by the donor ofthe power without the concurrence of the donee of the power, or the death, marriage, lunacy, unsoundness of mind, or bankruptcy of the donor of thepower, had not been done or happened; and

(c) neither the donee of the power, nor the purchaser, shall at anytime be prejudicially affected by notice either during or after that fixed timeof anything done by the donor of the power during that fixed time, without theconcurrence of the donee of the power, or of the death, marriage, lunacy,unsoundness of mind, or bankruptcy of the donor of the power within that fixedtime.

(2) This section applies only to powers of attorney created byinstruments executed after the commencement of this Act.

Payment by attorney under power without notice of death etc. good.

7. Any person making or doing any payment or act in good faith inpursuance of a power of attorney shall not be liable in respect of the paymentor act by reason that before the payment or act the donor of the power had diedor became lunatic or of unsound mind or bankrupt or had revoked the power if thefact of death, lunacy, unsoundness of mind, bankruptcy or revocation was not atthe time of the payment or act known to the person making or doing the same:

Provided that this section shall not affect any right against the payee ofany person interested in the money so paid and that person shall have the likeremedy against the payee as he would have had against the payer if the paymenthad not been made by him.

Register of powers of attorney and inspection of register.

8. (1) A separate file of documents deposited in accordance with section 3 shall be kept by the Registrar who shall enter in a register keptfor that purpose short particulars of each such document together with anysubsequent revocation or other determination thereof, of which he shall have hadnotice, and any person may during the usual office hours upon payment of a feesearch such register and file, and inspect any document so deposited, and anoffice copy of such document shall be delivered to him on request and on paymentof a fee.

[S 6/94]

Office copies.

(2) A copy of any document so deposited may be presented at the office ofthe Registrar and may, after verification and on payment of a fee, be marked bythe Registrar as an office copy, and when so marked shall become and be anoffice copy of such document.

[S 6/94]

Office copies as evidence.

9. An office copy of any document deposited in accordance with section 3 shall when marked as provided in section 8(2) be without further proof sufficient evidence of the contents of such document, and of the deposit thereof in the office of the Registrar.

[S 6/94]

Searches.

10. The Registrar shall upon application whether made orally or in writing by any person desirous of obtaining information respecting any specified document deposited in the office of the Registrar oras to the deposit or otherwise of a document of any specified tenor and onpayment of a fee, furnish to the best of his ability to such person theinformation applied for:

[S 6/94]

Provided that any copy of a document supplied for the purpose offurnishing such information shall be paid for separately under section 8.

Power to make regulations. [S 6/94]

11. The Minister responsible for law* may with the approval of HisMajesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan make such regulations as he may thinkexpedient for regulating procedure under this Act and for prescribing the formsto be used and the fees to be paid in respect of proceedings under this Act.

* Transferred to the Registrar of Powers of Attorney — [S32/98]