The Legal Basis of Athlete Representation
An athlete's representative — agent, manager or advocate — conducts negotiations, concludes contracts and performs other business acts in the athlete's name. The Georgian Civil Code regulates this relationship through the norms of the contract of mandate. Under Article 709, under a contract of mandate the mandatory is obliged to perform one or several entrusted acts in the name and at the expense of the mandator. For an athlete this means: the agent acts in the athlete's name, but both the benefit and the cost of the transaction belong to the athlete. It is precisely this construction that determines every subsequent rule of representation — from the duty to follow instructions to the return of everything received.
The Agent's Duty to Follow the Athlete's Instructions
Article 712 governs deviation from the mandator's instructions. The mandatory is obliged to follow the mandator's instructions — this rule operates with full force in sports representation: the agent negotiates with the club within the framework set by the athlete, not at his own discretion. Deviation is permissible only where, in the circumstances, the mandatory can assume that the mandator, knowing the state of affairs, would have approved such deviation. Moreover, the mandatory must notify the mandator before deviating from the instructions and await his decision, unless delay threatens the mandator with harm. Where performance of the instructions may cause the athlete significant harm, the agent may perform them only after informing the athlete of the harm and the athlete does not change the instructions. These norms subordinate the agent to the athlete's interests and give the athlete a legal instrument of control.
Return of What Was Received, and Interest
Article 715 defines the mandatory's accountability: he must return to the mandator everything received for the performance of the entrusted act and not used for it, as well as everything acquired in connection with that performance. In sports practice this means: an advance from a club, a sum under an endorsement contract, or any property transferred to the agent for the assignment and not used for it must be returned to the athlete. Where the mandatory uses for himself money that he should have returned to the mandator or used for the mandator's benefit, he must return the money together with interest. This norm is the foundation of financial discipline and creates a compensation mechanism where the agent uses the athlete's funds.