Legal position · Germany

Agent mandates under German law

Germany demands doctrinal precision for the agent mandate: §§ 164 ff. BGB govern agency, the «computer declaration» is recognised, and attribution is decided by the documented margin of discretion of the system — exactly what structured constraints provide. With the EUDI obligation (deadline 24 December 2026) and the German state wallet from 2 January 2027, the identity root becomes available on a regulated basis.

Legal foundations

Agency (§§ 164 ff. BGB)

The agent's declaration of intent takes effect for and against the person represented, insofar as power of representation exists. For software agents the computer-declaration doctrine applies: the declaration is attributed to the person who deploys the system with a defined margin of discretion — the mandate documents this margin, hash-chained and bound to a timestamp.

Granting without form (§ 167 BGB)

Authority does not require the form of the transaction to which it relates. Machine-readable, identity-anchored granting more than meets the requirements — and removes the classic evidentiary problem of informal authority.

Revocation (§ 168 BGB)

Authority is in principle freely revocable. Real-time status checking makes revocation effective in practice: after MD-201 nobody can rely on its continuation.

Agent without authority (§§ 177 ff. BGB)

If the agent exceeds the mandate, the transaction is pending — the person represented can ratify or reject it; the contracting party that checked knows exactly where it stands. The primary code MD-301 (out of scope) is the machine form of this limit.

Evidence in a dispute

German civil procedure applies the free assessment of evidence (§ 286 ZPO); qualified electronic timestamps enjoy the presumption of accuracy of date and integrity under Art. 41 eIDAS. Once the evidence root is anchored daily through a connected qualified trust service, the whole chain gains this evidentiary position; until then the documented, deterministic check carries it — and prima facie evidence of proper verification follows from that documented check.

Identity root

The member states' EUDI wallet obligation applies from 24 December 2026; the German state wallet is announced for 2 January 2027, and the acceptance obligation for regulated sectors follows by November 2027. Until then video ident and organisational registers (commercial register) carry the identity anchor — the wallet connector (OID4VCI/VP) is prepared.

Germany debates the attribution of AI more intensively than any other DACH market — whoever appears here with a documented margin of discretion (constraints, escalation, evidence) answers the literature's open question with operating practice.

Legal position by action type (Germany)

Purchase goods Execute bank transfer Grant direct debit mandate Open account Override sanctions screening Submit tax return Disclose personal data Transfer data to a third country Notify authority of data breach Notify data subjects of breach Execute erasure request Export data for portability Process withdrawal of consent Activate automated decision-making Submit filing to authority File appeal Apply for permit Submit customs declaration Report to social insurance File with commercial register Submit procurement bid Grant authority inspection Trigger bulk send Publish ad hoc disclosure Enter into contract Waive a deadline Settle dispute Disclose patient data Issue prescription Hire employee Change salary Correct working time record Report occupational accident Issue employment reference Ship dangerous goods Trigger product recall Shed grid load Report security incident (critical infrastructure)Override safety system Bind insurance policy Deny insurance claim Cancel insurance policy Issue certificate Decide on enrolment Enter into property lease Apply for mortgage Initiate legal proceedings Grant power of attorney Terminate employment Enter into surety Purchase real property Terminate lease Enter into consumer credit agreement Fulfil data subject request Respond to data subject access request Consult the Betriebsrat (works council)File with the Transparenzregister (DE beneficial ownership register)Enter into works agreement Register a trade (Gewerbeanmeldung)

Not legal advice. These pages explain the legal position in general terms; responsibility for the limits set lies with the person granting the mandate.