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A third-party beneficiary, in the law of contracts, is a person who may have the right to sue on a contract, despite not having originally been an active party to the contract. This right, known as a ''ius quaesitum tertio'', arises where the third party (''tertius'' or ''alteri'') is the intended beneficiary of the contract, as opposed to a mere incidental beneficiary (''penitus extraneus''). It vests when the third party relies on or assents to the relationship, and gives the third party the right to sue either the promisor (''promittens'', or performing party) or the promisee (''stipulans'', or anchor party) of the contract, depending on the circumstances under which the relationship was created. A contract made in favor of a third party is known as a "third-party beneficiary contract" or simply "third-party contract" (''stipulatio alteri'' or ''pactum in favorem tertii''), and any action to enforce a ''ius quaesitum tertio'' is known as a "third-party action". Under traditional common law, the ''ius quaesitum tertio'' principle was not recognized, instead relying on the doctrine of privity of contract, which restricts rights, obligations, and liabilities arising from a contract to the contracting parties (said to be ''privy'' to the contract). However, the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 introduced a number of allowances and exceptions for ''ius quaesitum tertio'' in English law. Other common-law countries are also making reforms in this area, though the United States is unique in abandoning privity early in the mid-19th century. ==''Ius quaesitum tertio''== While the law on this subject varies, there is nonetheless a commonly accepted construction of third-party rights in the laws of most countries. A right of action arises only where it appears the object of the contract was to benefit the third party's interests and the third-party beneficiary has either relied on or accepted the benefit. A promisee nominates a third party usually for one of two reasons—either the promisee owes something to the third party and the performance of this new obligation will discharge it, or the promisee will somehow get a material benefit by giving something to the third party. There are also two possible ways to explain the functioning of the contractual relationship: either, * The parties A (promisee) and B (promisor) contract each in his own name but with the intention of creating an opportunity for C (third-party beneficiary) to acquire a benefit, conditional upon acceptance, from B; or * C immediately acquires a conditional right, from which A is able to release B until the moment of acceptance, when the right of A to release B is extinguished.〔David J. Joubert, "Agency and ''Stipulatio Alteri''", ''Southern Cross: Civil Law and Common Law in South Africa'', eds. Reinhard Zimmerman & Daniel Visser (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1996), 356.〕 In either case, a third-party contract differs from agency in that the promisee acts in his own name and for himself, whereas an agent or representative does not. It is also distinguishable from a ''promesse de porte-fort'' under which the third party has a negative obligation to perform and, by expressing his consent, initially substitutes himself for an intended party to a contract and therefore binds himself. Also, as a somewhat distinct rule, the intended beneficiary of a third-party contract does not need to be in existence at the time the contract is concluded. This means a contract may benefit an unborn person (usually a family member) or secure benefits for a legal person, such as a company, still in the process of forming or registering. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Third-party beneficiary」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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