A Reflection on the Concept of Privity of Fault in Contracts with a Comparative Study in English and French law

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor of private law at Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

2 Ph.D. in private law, Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

The principle of "the effect of privity of contract " or the principle of "privity of contracts " is a well-known principle in the law of obligations, which is recognized as the principle in all Legal systems. Based on this principle, the obligations of the contract are liabilities of the parties of the contract, and the benefits belong to the parties, and it does not create obligations for third parties as third parties cannot expect profit from the contract. But the principle of the privity of fault in terms of the possibility of a third party citing the violation of the contractual obligation seems to be against the principle of privity of contracts, and this question can be raised If in a contract, obligations are violated and damage is caused to a third party or parties, can this violation of the contract by the parties of the contract be cited as a fault? In French law, the discussion of the privity of contractual fault is raised, and in English law, the examination of some opinions shows the tendency of this legal system to raise this issue, which is raised in this article with a comparative study of Iranian law. It seems that contractual fault has a relative concept and despite the principle of privity of contract, there is an advantage for the third party to rely on breach of contractual obligation to claim damages.

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History

  • Receive Date: 24 June 2023
  • Revise Date: 22 July 2023
  • Accept Date: 10 August 2023

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