What does the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 do?

• A. Allows some third parties to enforce contracts where the contract expressly confers a benefit or intends to confer a benefit.
• B. Abolishes privity entirely and allows any third party to enforce.
• C. Requires all contracts to be in writing to be enforceable by third parties.
• D. Restores the traditional rule of privity.

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 creates a clear route for someone who isn’t a party to a contract to enforce those terms if the contract is intended to benefit them. In practice, that means a non-party can sue on a contract when it expressly gives them rights or when the contract purports to confer a benefit on them, and the third party is identified by name or as a member of a described class. This is a targeted change from the old rule, which said only the people who signed the contract could enforce it.

So, this isn’t about abolishing privity altogether, nor about requiring writing for enforceability, nor about restoring the old, stricter rule. It simply recognizes that if a contract is meant to benefit someone who isn’t a party, that person should be able to enforce those benefits in their own right.