| Contract law |
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| Formation |
| Defences |
| Interpretation |
| Dispute resolution |
| Rights of third parties |
| Breach of contract |
| Remedies |
| Quasi-contractual obligations |
| Duties of parties |
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| Related areas of law |
| By jurisdiction |
| Other law areas |
| Notes |
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The doctrine of privity of contract is a common law principle which provides that a contract cannot confer rights or impose obligations upon anyone who is not a party to that contract.[1] It is related to, but distinct from, the doctrine of consideration, according to which a promise is legally enforceable only if valid consideration has been provided for it, and a plaintiff is legally entitled to enforce such a promise only if they are a promisee from whom the consideration has moved.[2]
A principal consequence of the doctrine of privity is that, at common law, a third party generally has no right to enforce a contract to which they are not a party, even where that contract was entered into by the contracting parties specifically for their benefit and with a common intention among all of them that they should be able to enforce it. In England & Wales and Northern Ireland, the doctrine has been substantially weakened by the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999, which created a statutory exception to privity, providing, in certain circumstances, third parties the right to enforce terms of contracts to which they are not privy.
- ^ Beatson, J; Burrows, A; Cartwright, J (2020). Anson's Law of Contract. OUP. p. Ch 21. ISBN 9780198829973. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
- ^ The Law Commission (July 1996). "The Law Commission Report No. 242: PRIVITY OF CONTRACT: CONTRACTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THIRD PARTIES" (PDF). The Law Commission. Retrieved 2023-03-20.