| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to make provision for the enforcement of contractual terms by third parties. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1999 c. 31 |
| Introduced by | Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg[1] |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales and Northern Ireland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 11 November 1999 |
| Commencement | 11 November 1999 |
Status: Current legislation | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 (c. 31) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that significantly reformed the common law doctrine of privity and "thereby [removed] one of the most universally disliked and criticised blots on the legal landscape".[2] The second rule of the doctrine of privity, that a third party could not enforce a contract for which he had not provided consideration, had been widely criticised by lawyers, academics and members of the judiciary. Proposals for reform via an act of Parliament were first made in 1937 by the Law Revision Committee in their Sixth Interim Report. No further action was taken by the government until the 1990s, when the Law Commission proposed a new draft bill in 1991, and presented their final report in 1996. The bill was introduced to the House of Lords in December 1998, and moved to the House of Commons on 14 June 1999. It received royal assent on 11 November 1999, coming into force immediately as the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
- ^ "House of Lords Hansard, Vol. 595, Col. 605". Hansard. London: Parliament of the United Kingdom. 3 December 1999. Archived from the original on 1 May 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
- ^ Dean (2000) p.143