On The Validity Of The Third-party Beneficiary Contract To Third Party

Whether a contract can bind on the third person, is always a central question for the benefit of third party contracts. It means breaking through the traditional principle of contract relativity, if we accept the benefit of third party contracts. However, blindly adhere to the principle of contract relativity, it will not catch social development. It has became a exception of the emergence of the benefit of third party contracts to the doctrine of the benefit of third party contracts. The Civil law system firstly accept the benefit of third party contracts, then the Common law system has also admit the third party. The emergence of the benefit of third party contracts provide a lawful system of soil for insurance, trust, transportation.In China, the current "contract law" article sixty-fourth is the most close to the benefit of third-party contract provisions, but the64th article express neither clear nor mention of third-party’s right, so the nature of the problem about64th article caused many scholars debate for a long time. In this situation, the judicial practice has difficulties for third-party beneficiary contracts. It brings a great uncertainty about whether this kind of contract can be effective and the third-party’s interests have no protection in this way.In this paper, the right of the third person is the core of questions. And finding a way to solve this situation basis on the theory of system and the existing legal system. Although the third-party beneficiary contract challenge the traditional principle of contract relativity, but it is also attribute in "contract". But only discussing the meaning of64th article of the contract law research and the discussions apparently cannot bring more practical for the judicial regulation. There is a division between theoretical and practical. In this paper, several judicial precedents as the starting point, is studied by means of the existing legal system, trying to bridge the gap between theory and practice.In the first part, the paper explains the difficulties in judicial practice, and analysis several representative cases. Then it points out that the judicial practice in China misunderstanding the benefit of third-party contract. The factors hinder third-party beneficiary contracts being recognized is mainly for lacking of awareness of the existing judicial system, the right of third party and privity of contract; In the second part of the article, we discuss the reason of contract relativity, our contract law attitude toward third-party beneficiary contracts, and the concept of broad and narrow sense of the contract for the third party. In the third part, the article analyzes the legal status of the benefit of third party, and it is pointed out that the third people may enjoy the rights and obligations in the contract; In the end, the paper based on the legal status of the third-party beneficiary contract, to analysis the technical means and judge third party’s right of the contract through explaining the consensus, contract purpose, the rule of filling in gaps and other means.However, it is just a expediency introduce the third-party beneficiary contract to the current legal system. This kind of measure cannot replace the detailed and systematic legislation. But it can also resolve the dilemma of the protection of third-party’s interests to meet the economic development in the current circumstances.