Definition
DELEGATE carries both a noun and a verb meaning in law, and the distinction matters.
1. As a noun: A person authorized to act on behalf of another, typically within defined limits. A delegate represents a principal — whether a sovereign, a legislature, a party to a contract, or a trust beneficiary — and exercises only such authority as has been conferred. The delegate's acts, when within the scope of the authority granted, bind the principal.
2. As a verb: To transfer or assign authority, a duty, or a power to another. In contract law, a party delegates when it designates someone else to perform its contractual obligations. In administrative and constitutional law, a legislature delegates when it grants regulatory authority to an executive agency. In trust law, a trustee delegates when it assigns discretionary or administrative functions to a co-trustee, agent, or adviser.
The noun form focuses on the person. The verb form focuses on the act of transfer.
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Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): A delegate is a person chosen to represent others, as at a conference or political convention. To delegate means to entrust a task or responsibility to another person, typically someone of lower rank.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): "One who is delegated; a person appointed and sent by another with powers to transact business as his representative; a deputy; a commissioner; a vicar." Also: "To send as a representative; to empower as one's substitute; to appoint as one's representative."
The common usage tracks the legal meaning more closely than many terms do, but a meaningful gap remains. In ordinary speech, delegation is primarily about convenience and hierarchy — a supervisor assigning tasks downward. In law, delegation carries formal consequences: it determines who is bound, who retains liability, and whether the act can be undone. The legal question is not merely who performs a duty but whether performance by the delegate satisfies the obligation, and whether the original obligor remains on the hook.
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Common Confusion
DELEGATE vs. ASSIGN: These are the most frequently conflated terms in contract law. Assignment transfers a right (typically to receive performance). Delegation transfers a duty (the obligation to perform). A party who assigns a contract right steps out of the picture as the obligee; a party who delegates a duty does not automatically escape liability — the original obligor typically remains secondarily liable unless the other contracting party agrees to a novation and releases the delegator. The distinction collapses in loose usage, especially in older materials where "assign" is used to cover both operations. Researchers working with historical sources should check whether the document means a transfer of rights, a transfer of duties, or both.
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Core Elements
For delegation of contractual duties to be effective:
1. Delegable duty: Not all duties may be delegated. Duties involving personal skill, special trust, or unique character are generally non-delegable. The question is whether the other party contracted specifically for this person's performance.
2. Appointment of the delegate: The delegating party must actually designate another to perform. The form varies — formal appointment, written instrument, or conduct may suffice depending on context and the nature of the obligation.
3. Retained liability of the delegator: Unless a novation is agreed upon, delegation does not discharge the delegator. The delegator remains liable if the delegate fails to perform.
4. Delegate's assumption: If the delegate expressly assumes the duty, the other contracting party may have a direct right of action against the delegate. Mere acceptance of delegation without assumption does not necessarily create that direct liability.
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Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES
Legislative delegation: Transfer of lawmaking or regulatory power from a legislature to an administrative body or executive branch. Subject to constitutional limits (the non-delegation doctrine) that vary by jurisdiction.
Contractual delegation: Transfer of a duty of performance under a contract to a third party. Governed by contract law principles.
Trustee delegation: A trustee's assignment of discretionary or administrative functions to an agent, co-trustee, or adviser. Governed by trust law and, in many jurisdictions, the Uniform Trust Code or Uniform Prudent Investor Act standards.
Agency delegation: A principal's grant of authority to an agent to sub-delegate to another, where such sub-delegation is authorized.
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Why It Matters in Research
The word "delegate" appears across contract law, constitutional law, administrative law, and trust law — each domain with its own doctrine and vocabulary. A researcher who does not anchor the term to the specific context risks importing assumptions from the wrong domain.
In contract research, the central trap is treating delegation as equivalent to assignment. Historical treatises and older cases often blur this line. When you see "assigned all rights and duties" in a historical instrument, do not assume the original party was released from performance obligations — that requires a novation, which is a separate transaction.
In administrative and constitutional law research, "delegation" carries additional freight. The non-delegation doctrine — the constitutional limit on Congress transferring legislative power to agencies — has fluctuated in enforcement across eras. Sources from the Lochner period read very differently from New Deal-era materials, and contemporary materials reflect renewed judicial interest in the doctrine's limits. Historical dictionary sources will not capture this evolution.
In trust law research, the standards for proper trustee delegation have changed significantly with the Uniform Prudent Investor Act and the Uniform Trust Code. Older materials may reflect a more restrictive rule under which trustees could not delegate discretionary functions at all. Modern standards permit delegation subject to prudent selection, monitoring, and scope requirements. Rapalje & Lawrence reflects a period well before this modernization; treat its treatment of trustee delegation as historical context, not current law.
Across all contexts: look for whether the delegate assumed the duty expressly, whether the delegator was released, and what remedy the third party has. Those questions drive the legal outcome and should shape your research path.
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Historical Dictionary Support
Rapalje & Lawrence defines a delegate as "a person to whom anything is delegated or committed by another; one who acts by deputation." This is accurate as far as it goes but reflects the noun usage almost exclusively. The verb form — the act of delegating and its legal consequences — receives little treatment.
The source is most useful for establishing the baseline concept of representative authority and the relationship between principal and delegate. It does not address the contractual delegation/assignment distinction, the non-delegation doctrine, or trust law standards, all of which developed or matured after the period the dictionary reflects.
Researchers should use Rapalje & Lawrence to clarify basic meaning in historical instruments but should not rely on it for the doctrinal content of any of the three major modern applications of the term.
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Jurisdictional Note
The non-delegability of personal service contracts is a common law principle recognized broadly, but what counts as "personal" enough to be non-delegable varies by jurisdiction and is heavily fact-specific. In trust law, the scope of permissible trustee delegation differs between states that have adopted the Uniform Trust Code or Uniform Prudent Investor Act and those still operating under older common law restrictions.
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Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
Delegation of Duties — General Principles and Non-Delegable Duties (The Law Mind Contracts & Commercial Law Encyclopedia)
Delegation of Duties — Liability of Delegator After Delegation (The Law Mind Contracts & Commercial Law Encyclopedia)
Delegation of Trustee Duties — Prudent Delegation and Co-Trustees (The Law Mind Trusts, Estates & Probate Encyclopedia)
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