Enforcing a contract

Contributed by Ian Macdonald and Su Mahalingham and current to 1 September 2005

Generally only a person who is a party to a contract can enforce it or have it enforced against him or her. This is known as the doctrine of privity.

A claim regarding a contract must normally be commenced in a court within 6 years from when the relevant cause of action arose. However, there may be more restrictive limitation periods which apply to more specific types of contracts. Legal advice should therefore be sought if court proceedings are threatened or contemplated.