... contract unless he is party to it. Nor can a contract confer rights to a third party or impose obligations on a third party. This idea is best illustrated in the case of Tweedle v Atkinson (1861) 1 B & S 393 from which the modern principle derives from. This case involved a son, his father and his future father-in-law. The fathers of the couple made an agreement between themselves that they would pay the son an amount of £100 and £200 if he got married with his prospective bride. After the marriage the father-in-law died before the payment could be made. The son William Tweedle sued his father-in-law's estate for the benefit. The court held that he could not enforce the obligations of the contract. The reason for this was that the promise was made to the plaintiff's father and not to the plaintiff himself even though he was ...

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