New privity law

Its effect on the law of carriage of goods

Dr M S Korotana, visiting lecturer in law at London Guildhall University

Introduction

The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 reforms the law of ‘privity of contract’. In English law under the doctrine of privity the parties to the contract are the only subjects of contract who can rely on the terms of the contract, that is that a person can only enforce a contract if he is a party to it.