Doctrine Of Ultra Vires Meaning
Summing up the doctrine of ultra vires.
Doctrine of ultra vires meaning. Thus an act by a company not expressly or impliedly permitted by its memorandum or articles is ultra vires. An act legal in itself but not authorized by the object clause of the memorandum of association of a company or statute is ultra vires the company. The doctrine of ultra vires has been aptly described by sir william wade as the central principle of administrative law but in recent years it has been subjected to criticism. Doctrine of ultra vires has provides protection to the investors and creditors o the company.
Indian legal system civil laws company law the doctrine of ultra vires anything which is beyond the authority or power is called ultra vires. The doctrine of ultra vires could not established its roots. Ltd entered into a contract with mr riche for providing finance for the construction of railway line in belgium. The doctrine of ultra vires is associated with actions taken by an individual in relation to a corporation or company.
In this case the directors of the company i e ashbury railway carriage iron co. Hence it is null and void. Doctrine of ultra vires has been developed to protect the investors and creditors of the company. In the uk the ultra vires doctrine has been radically changed by the companies act 1989 to the extent that persons doing business with companies without notice of the problem have little to fear.
An act ultra vires the company cannot be ratified even by the unanimous consent of all shareholders. This doctrine prevents a company to employ the money of the investors for a purpose other than those stated in the objects clause of its memorandum. The doctrine of ultra vires however has its genesis in the english case of ashbury railway carriage and iron company ltd vs riche. First the academics weighed in and increasingly eminent judges speaking or writing extra judicially have described the doctrine as a fairy tale or a fig leaf and declared its redundancy and lack of.
Beyond one s legal power or authority. Since the application of the european community law in england the doctrine of ultra vires stand restricted to a certain extent in india the original of the doctrine dates back to 1866 when the bombay high court applied it to a joint stock. Its opposite an act done under proper authority is intra vires within the powers. Definition of ultra vires.
An act is ultra vires if it is beyond the legal powers of the person doing it. Beyond the powers is a latin phrase used in law to describe an act which requires legal authority but is done without it. Acts that are intra vires may equivalently be termed valid and those that are ultra vires termed invalid. 653 as decided by the house of lords.