Abstract: Positive law, as presented in scholarship and in jurisprudence, rarely addresses the concept of the legal power. When the term ‘power’ does appear, its scope is limited: it serves as a mere synonym for capacity or competence or to define an individual right. However, the Civil Code of Québec, through its codification of the rules governing the administration of the property of others, reveals the power to be an independent category, distinct from the right. It is a prerogative granted in order to achieve a purpose. The concept of the power justifies a specific regime governing its exercise and specific remedies that sustain it. The category of the power, furthermore, has a scope of application that extends well beyond the administration of the property of others.
The development of a general theory of the private power, for which the Title on the Administration of the Property of Others represents a first step, is a useful response to criticisms levelled against rights-centric theories. It also provides a framework for considering which interventions may legitimately be made by one person in the juridical sphere of another.
European Review of Private Law