Verfügenden

Verfügenden is a German legal term that denotes persons who dispose of a right or asset. It is the plural form of Verfügender and is used in civil and commercial law to describe the disposers in disposition transactions. A Verfügender performs a Verlegungsschritt that directly changes the content or existence of a legal relation, such as transferring ownership, encumbering a property with a lien, or granting a rights-based restriction. The important aspect of the concept is the act of disposition itself, not the creation of the underlying right.

In practice, who qualifies as a Verfügender depends on the scope of disposal authority (Verfügungsbefugnis). The disposer may be the owner or another person authorized to dispose, such as an agent with power of attorney, a trustee, or an executor of an estate. Dispositions must usually stay within the authorized scope; acts beyond authority can be ineffective or require ratification.

Common contexts include property law, where the owner or an authorized representative disposes of real or movable property, and estate or corporate law, where executors, administrators, or managing directors dispose of assets within their remit. The term helpfully distinguishes the party performing a disposition from other participants in a transaction, such as obligors or guarantors.

Etymology and usage notes: Verfügenden derives from verfügen (to dispose, to order) and the noun Verfügender (disposer). In text, the form Verfügenden appears as the genitive plural or the dative plural, depending on sentence structure (e.g., der Verfügenden, den Verfügenden). The concept is widely used in descriptions of civil procedures and contractual acts that alter rights.