A more thorough explanation:

Definition: A mandant is the principal in a contract of mandate, such as a bailor in a bailment. In French and Scots law, it refers to the person who delegates the performance of a mandate to another. In civil law, it is the person who employs another in a gratuitous agency.

Examples:

• When a person hires a lawyer to represent them in court, they are the mandant.
• If a company hires a marketing agency to promote their products, the company is the mandant.
• In a bailment, the person who entrusts their property to another for safekeeping is the mandant.

These examples illustrate how the mandant is the person who initiates a contract of mandate or agency. They are the one who delegates tasks or responsibilities to another person or entity.