Ch.5 Content, third party rights and conditions, s.2: Third party rights, Art.5.2.2
This commentary focuses on Article 5.2.2 of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (PICC) concerning the attributes of the third party. The provision aims to strike a balance between commercial flexibility and legal certainty. Art 5.2.2 stipulates that the beneficiary must be identifiable with adequate certainty by the contract but need not be in existence at the time the contract is made. It furthers the autonomy of the original parties by allowing them to accord a right to future persons. A lack of identifiability affects the validity of the contract between the original parties. The burden of proof that the third party is identifiable with adequate certainty by the contract is on the party asserting that a contract in favour of a third party has been validly concluded, usually the beneficiary or the promisee. This commentary discusses the rationale of Article 5.2.2, existence and identity of the third party, and legal capacity of the third party.