Privity

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Theoretical issues raised by the privity question, Peter Kincaid: private or public justice; flexible v. formal reasoning; pragmatism v. principle; nature and source of a third-party right; rights and duties - the question of focus; remedies. Part 2 Summaries of essays, Peter Kincaid: privity - the end of an era (error), Robert Flannigan; privity and private justice in contract, Peter Kincaid; privity reform in England, Peter Kincaid; privity - a rule in search of decent burial?, Sir Anthony Mason; searching for the principles behind privity reform, Catherine Mitchell; beyond promissory principle and protective pragmatism, Roger Brownsword and Dale Hutchison; contracts for the benefit of third parties - in defence of the third party rule, Stephen A. Smith; the third-party beneficiary principle, Melvin Aron Eisenberg; is privity worth defending?, John Gava; the rights of third parties to contracts - a suggested basis for recognition, John Swan; reciprocity beyond privity, Simon Whittaker; privity and exclusion clauses, J.L.R. Davis; privity, property and pragmatism, Anthony Jon Waters. Part 3 Privity - the end of an era (error), Robert Flannigan: the early cases; privity or consideration?; the entrenchment of the doctrine of privity; the modern cases; privity pro and con; privity and contract theory; conclusion. Part 4 Privity and private justice in contract, Peter Kincaid: the Law Commission's proposals; the Law Commission's justifications; issues raised by justifications; conclusion. Part 5 Privity reform in England, Peter Kincaid. Part 6 Privity - a rule in search of decent burial?, Sir Anthony Mason: the nature of the privity rule; the purpose of the privity rule; suggested justifications for the rule; the rule is not accepted or has been modified elsewhere; the justification for departing from the rule; other reasons for departing from the rule; trust of the third party promise; complexity, artificiality and uncertainty; adverse consequences for commercial activities; criticisms of the case for departing from the rule; other criticisms of reform; conditions according to which third party enforcement is permitted; conclusion. Part 7 Searching for the principles behind privity reform, Catherine Mitchell: the proposals for reform; the Law Commission proposals and the orthodox account of contractual obligation; can the orthodox account justify third party rights in contract?; the crystallization test; the Law Commission and the modern account of contractual obligations; conclusion. Part 8 Beyond promissory principle and protective pragmatism, Roger Brownsword and Dale Hutchison: from bilateral to trilateral promissory situations; the South African regime; the new English regime; conclusion. Part 9 In defence of the third party rule, Stephen Smith: the third party rule defined and defended; the real problems in privity cases; the Law Commission's reform proposals; conclusion. Part 10 The third-party beneficiary principle (part contents).