('beyond the powers') is a

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used in law to describe an act which requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be termed "valid", and those that are termed "invalid". Legal issues relating to can arise in a variety of contexts: *

Companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

and other

legal person In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for ...

s sometimes have limited legal capacity to act, and attempts to engage in activities beyond their legal capacities may be . Most countries have restricted the doctrine of in relation to companies by statute. * Similarly, statutory and governmental bodies may have limits upon the acts and activities which they legally engage in. *

Subordinate legislation Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislative and executive branches of governments in representative democr ...

which is purported passed without the proper legal authority may be invalid as beyond the powers of the authority which issued it.

Corporate law

In corporate law, describes acts attempted by a corporation that are beyond the scope of powers granted by the corporation's objects clause, its

articles of incorporation Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

, its

by-laws A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

, similar founding documents, or laws authorizing a corporation's formation. Acts attempted by a corporation that are beyond the scope of its charter are

void Void may refer to: Science, engineering, and technology * Void (astronomy), the spaces between galaxy filaments that contain no galaxies * Void (composites), a pore that remains unoccupied in a composite material * Void, synonym for vacuum, a ...

voidable Voidable, in law, is a transaction or action that is valid but may be annulled by one of the parties to the transaction. Voidable is usually used in distinction to void ''ab initio'' (or void from the outset) and unenforceable. Definition The a ...

. # An transaction cannot be ratified by shareholders, even if they wish it to be ratified. # The doctrine of estoppel usually precluded reliance on the defense of where the transaction was fully performed by one party. # ''

A fortiori ''Argumentum a fortiori'' (literally "argument from the stronger eason) (, ) is a form of argumentation that draws upon existing confidence in a proposition to argue in favor of a second proposition that is held to be implicit in, and even more cer ...

'', a transaction which was fully performed by both parties could not be attacked. # If the contract was fully executory, the defense of might be raised by either party. # If the contract was partially performed, and the performance was held to be insufficient to bring the doctrine of estoppel into play, a suit for

quasi-contract A quasi-contract (or implied-in-law contract or constructive contract) is a fictional contract recognised by a court. The notion of a quasi-contract can be traced to Roman law and is still a concept used in some modern legal systems. Quasi Contra ...

for recovery of benefits conferred was available. # If an

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

of the corporation committed a

tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

within the scope of his or her employment, the corporation could not defend on the ground the act was . Several modern developments relating to corporate formation have limited the probability that acts will occur. Except in the case of

non-profit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been Incorporation (business), incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a ...

s (including

municipal corporations A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...

), this legal doctrine is

obsolescent Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service, or practice is no longer maintained or required even though it may still be in good working order. It usually happens when something that is more efficient or less risky r ...

; within recent years, almost all business corporations are chartered to allow them to transact any lawful business. The

Model Business Corporation Act The Model Business Corporation Act (MBCA) is a Model Act promulgated and periodically amended by the Corporate Laws Committee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association (Committee). The MBCA had been adopted by 36 states and other ...

of the United States states that: "The validity of corporate action may not be challenged on the ground that the corporation lacks or lacked power to act." The doctrine still has some life among non-profit corporations or state-created corporate bodies established for a specific public purpose, such as universities or charities.

United Kingdom

Historically all companies in the United Kingdom were subject to the doctrine of and any act which was outside of the objects specified in a company's memorandum of association would be and

.''

Ashbury Railway Carriage and Iron Co Ltd v Riche ''Ashbury Railway Carriage and Iron Co Ltd v Riche'' (1875) LR 7 HL 653 is a UK company law case, which concerned the objects clause of a company's memorandum of association. Its importance as case law has been diminished as a result of the C ...

'' (1875) LR 7 HL 653 That result was commercially unpalatable, and led to companies being formed with extremely wide and generic objects clauses permitting a company to engage in all manner of commercial activities. The position was changed by statute by the

Companies Act 1985 The Companies Act 1985 (c. 6) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, enacted in 1985, which enabled companies to be formed by registration, and set out the responsibilities of companies, their d ...

which largely abolished the doctrine in relation to commercial companies. The position is now regulated by the

Companies Act 2006 The Companies Act 2006 (c 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which forms the primary source of UK company law. The Act was brought into force in stages, with the final provision being commenced on 1 October 2009. It largely ...

, sections 31 and 39, which similarly greatly reduces the applicability of in corporate law, although it can still apply in relation to charities and a shareholder may apply for an

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...

, in advance only, to prevent an act which is claimed to be . In many jurisdictions, such as Australia, legislation provides that a corporation has all the powers of a natural person plus others; also, the validity of acts which are made is preserved.

United States

According to American laws, the concept of can still arise in the following kinds of activities in some states: # Charitable or political contributions # Guaranty of indebtedness of another # Loans to officers or directors # Pensions, bonuses, stock option plans, job severance payments, and other fringe benefits # The power to acquire shares of other corporations # The power to enter into a partnership

Constitutional law

Under

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...

, particularly in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, constitutions give federal and provincial or state governments various powers. To go outside those powers would be ; for example, although the court did not use the term in striking down a federal law in ''

United States v. Lopez ''United States v. Alfonso D. Lopez, Jr.'', 514 U.S. 549 (1995), was a landmark case of the United States Supreme Court concerning the Commerce Clause. It was the first case since 1937 in which the Court held that Congress had exceeded its power ...

'' on the grounds that it exceeded the constitutional authority of Congress, the Supreme Court still declared the law to be . According to Article 15.2 of the

Irish constitution The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the fundamental law of Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democracy, is broadly within the traditio ...

, the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

(parliament) is the sole lawmaking body in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. In the case of '' CityView Press v AnCo'', however, the Supreme Court of Ireland held that the Oireachtas may delegate certain powers to subordinate bodies through primary legislation, so long as these delegated powers allow the delegatee only to further the principles and policies laid down by the Oireachtas in primary legislation and not craft new principles or policies themselves. Any piece of primary legislation that grants the power to make public policy to a body other than the Oireachtas is unconstitutional; however, as there is a presumption in Irish constitutional law that the Oireachtas acts within the confines of the constitution, any legislation passed by the Oireachtas must be interpreted in such a way as to be constitutionally valid where possible. Thus, in a number of cases where bodies other than the Oireachtas were found to have used powers granted to them by primary legislation to make public policy, the impugned primary legislation was read in such a way that it would not have the effect of allowing a subordinate body to make public policy. In these cases, the primary legislation was held to be constitutional, but the subordinate or secondary legislation, which amounted to creation of public policy, was held to be the primary legislation and was struck down. In

UK constitutional law The United Kingdom constitutional law concerns the governance of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. With the oldest continuous political system on Earth, the British constitution is not contained in a single code but princ ...

, describes patents, ordinances and the like enacted under the

prerogative powers The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in th ...

of the Crown that contradict statutes enacted by the

Crown-in-Parliament The King-in-Parliament (or, during the reign of a female monarch, Queen-in-Parliament), sometimes referred neutrally as the Crown-in-Parliament, is a technical term of constitutional law in the C