Whether the contract signed by the project department with official seal is valid.
Enterprise management can not be separated from enterprise seal. According to the registration requirements of the administrative department for industry and commerce, the enterprise seals registered in the administrative department for industry and commerce include administrative seals (i.e. corporate seals), financial seals, contract seals and business seals. Legally speaking, the above seals can represent enterprises. Due to the numerous and scattered construction projects of construction enterprises, and the location of the projects is often not in the same area as the domicile of the construction enterprises, the official seal of the project department has been widely used for the convenience of operation when the construction enterprises have not set up branches in the project location. In practice, some construction enterprises are classified according to construction projects, and there are as many official seals of the project department as there are projects, and some are classified according to construction forces, and there are as many official seals of the project department as there are construction forces. Because the project department is the internal organization of the construction company, it does not have the qualification of legal person and has not gone through industrial and commercial registration. Therefore, how to determine the legal effect of the official seal of the project department and the effectiveness of related contracts is of great significance to construction enterprises and needs to be highly valued. The author believes that the identification of the official seal of the project department of a construction enterprise should be handled in different situations: Case 1: The construction enterprise issues a power of attorney, which specifies the entrusted matters and the entrusted authority, and authorizes the official seal of the project department to represent the construction enterprise within the entrusted matters and the entrusted authority. 1. If the official seal of the project department does not exceed the scope of the entrusted matters and the entrusted authority, the official seal of the project department shall be regarded as the official seal of the construction enterprise and have legal effect on the construction enterprise. Just because the project department does not have the legal person qualification, it cannot be mechanically determined that the official seal of the project department has no legal effect. 2. If the official seal of the project department exceeds the entrusted matters and authorization authority, and the construction enterprise recognizes it, the official seal of the project department shall be regarded as the official seal of the construction enterprise, which has legal effect on the construction enterprise; If the construction enterprise does not approve it, it shall be handled according to the following fourth situation. Case 2: The construction enterprise issues a power of attorney, but the entrusted matters and authority are not clear. In this case, the construction enterprise should be responsible for its unclear authorization, and the official seal of the project department should be regarded as the official seal of the construction enterprise, which has legal effect on the construction enterprise. However, the other party bears the burden of proof and should provide evidence to confirm the fact that the construction enterprise has issued a power of attorney. Case 3: The construction enterprise does not issue a power of attorney, but recognizes the official seal of the project department afterwards. In this case, the official seal of the project department is regarded as the official seal of the construction enterprise and has legal effect on the construction enterprise. Case 4: The construction enterprise failed to issue a power of attorney and refused to recognize the official seal of the project department afterwards. In this case, the official seal of the project department can at least play the role of proof. 1. If the other party can provide evidence that although the official seal of the project department is used, the actual executor of the contract is the construction enterprise (for example, the construction contract is signed by the construction enterprise, and the project completion settlement is carried out by the construction enterprise and the employer, etc.). ), or can provide other evidence to prove that the construction enterprise recognizes the external effect of the official seal of the project department, it shall be deemed that the construction enterprise ratified the official seal of the project department, and the official seal of the project department has legal effect on the construction enterprise. 2. In addition to the above circumstances, there is no right to act as an agent in civil law. For any behavior that can be carried out without legal qualification (such as the consumption behavior of the project department to buy a commodity or equipment), the official seal of the project department shall be regarded as legally effective, and the contract shall be valid accordingly. However, because the project department does not have the qualification of civil subject, it cannot bear civil liability independently, and its civil liability shall be borne by the construction enterprise; For example, laws and administrative regulations require legal qualifications (such as building construction, providing guarantees for others' debts, etc.). ), as the main body of the project department is unqualified, and the contract signed with the official seal of the project department is invalid accordingly. However, the legal responsibility of the project department arising from the invalid contract shall be borne by the construction enterprise, and at the same time, the construction enterprise shall bear legal responsibility for the behavior of its subordinate project department in violation of the relevant provisions on qualification management. Case 5: The official seal of the project department was stolen or engraved by others or used without authorization. According to the relevant judicial interpretation of the Supreme People's Court, the perpetrator embezzled the official seal of the unit to sign an economic contract, and the unit did not bear civil liability for the losses caused by the perpetrator's criminal behavior; Unless there is evidence that the unit has obvious fault and there is a causal relationship between the fault and the economic loss of the victim, the unit will not bear civil liability. In this case, the project department should pay attention to the preservation of relevant evidence, such as report records and stamp records. , in case of future disputes. To sum up, in any case, the construction enterprise shall bear legal responsibility for the official seal of its project department. Therefore, it is necessary for construction enterprises to strengthen the management of the official seal of the project department and establish and improve the management system of the official seal of the project department. Where the official seal of the project department is used, strict examination and approval and registration system shall be implemented; Those who violate the above system will be severely punished to prevent the potential legal risks caused by the indiscriminate use of the official seal of the project department. The above article comes from Sohu blog.