Vol. 11 No.2:Mandatory Compensation to Commercial Agents upon Termination of Agency under Ethiopian Law

Abstract

The Ethiopian Commercial Code recognizes mandatory compensation if agency agreement for an indefinite period of time is terminated due to the fault of the principal; and the Draft Commercial Code is likely to maintain this approach. This comment examines the status and functions of a commercial agent as well as the compensation due to the agent upon the termination of the commercial agency. I argue that there should be mandatory compensation upon the termination of agency relations for both definite and indefinite period of time unless the agency relation is terminated due to the fault of the agent that justifies termination of a contract. This is justified by comparative experience in the legal regimes of Germany, France, Britain, the European Union, Turkey and some international conventions on agency relations.