Re-Evaluating Contractual Relativity: Third-Party Effects in Islamic and Positive Legal Frameworks
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21093/mj.v24i2.11151Keywords:
Relative Effect of the Contract, Islamic Jurisprudence, Positive Law, Contract TheoryAbstract
This study compares the principle of contractual relativity and its exceptions regarding third-party effects in Islamic jurisprudence and positive law. Employing a doctrinal-comparative methodology, it identifies key convergences and divergences in how both systems treat general successors, special successors, and creditors. The research finds that while both systems uphold the core principle, they develop distinct mechanisms for third-party protection, rooted in different foundational philosophies (Sharia vs. autonomy of will). A key novelty lies in the critical analysis revealing that classical juristic tools (like waqf, wasiyya) serve functions analogous to, but conceptually distinct from, positive law exceptions (like stipulation pour autrui). The study concludes that technological advancements necessitate contextual application of the principle, not its abandonment, and offers targeted recommendations for legal harmonization and judicial training to enhance transactional justice and stability.
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References
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Wahbah al-ZuḥaylÄ«. (2007). Al-Fiqh al-IslÄmÄ« wa Adillatuh [Islamic jurisprudence and its evidences]. Damascus: DÄr al-Fikr.
Yassine Chami & Maya Khater. (2025). The influence of Maliki jurisprudence on the French civil law in terms of the opposability of the relative effect of contract to third parties: A comparative study. Malaysian Journal of Syariah and Law, 13(1), 123–133.
Yassine Chami, Ahmad Ahmad, Mohamad Hidayat Muhtar, Kevin M. Rivera, & Viorizza Suciani Putri. (2024). Admissibility of lawsuits based on interest under Algerian civil and administrative procedures. Jambura Law Review, 6(2), 286–303.
Yongshun Xu, Heap-Yih Chong & Ming Chi. (2021). A review of smart contracts applications in various industries: A procurement perspective. Advances in Civil Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5530755
Ê¿Abd AllÄh al-Ê¿UmrÄnÄ«. (2010). Nisbit al-Ê¿Aqd wa Ä€thÄruhÄ Ê¿alÄ al-Ghayr fÄ« al-SharÄ«Ê¿ah wa al-QÄnÅ«n [Contract relativity and its effect on third parties in Sharia and law] (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Al-Azhar University, Cairo).
Ê¿Abd al-RazzÄq Aḥmad al-SanhÅ«rÄ«. (1964). Al-WasÄ«á¹ fÄ« Sharḥ al-QÄnÅ«n al-MadanÄ«: al-Ê¿UqÅ«d allÄtÄ« TaqaÊ¿ Ê¿alÄ al-MilkÄ«yah [The mediator in explaining the civil code: Contracts related to ownership]. Cairo: DÄr al-Nahá¸ah al-Ê¿Arabiyyah.
Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi. (1884). Al-Muwafaqat fi Usul al-Shari‘ah (Contemporary edition). Cairo: Matbaʿat al-Taqaddum.
Afolasade, A. Adewumi. (2021). Protecting intangible cultural heritage in the era of rapid technological advancement. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 36(1), 316–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/13600869.2021.1997084
Ahmad Tabrez. (2009). Comparative study of gift under Islamic law and transfer of property law: Indian perspective. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1471926
Ê¿AlÄʾ al-DÄ«n AbÅ« Bakr al-KÄsÄnÄ«. (n.d.). BadÄʾiÊ¿ al-á¹¢anÄʾiÊ¿ fÄ« TartÄ«b al-SharÄʾiÊ¿. Beirut: DÄr al-Kutub al-Ê¿Ilmiyyah. (Originally published ca. 1191 CE)
Al-Hadrawi, Baqer Khudair et al. (2024). Mind intruders: Psychological, legal, and social effects of human parasites in the age of technological progress. Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences, 22(2), 5564–5581. https://doi.org/10.57239/PJLSS-2024-22.2.00414
Azlin Alisa Ahmad, Siti Mutiara Mohd Azman, Nadhirah Nordin & Salmy Edawati Yaacob. (2020). Shariah parameters for conditional hibah in preference shares structuring. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 10(11), 258–272. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v10-i11/7928
Bayram Galdibarmak, Abdolhamid Mortazavi & Mehdi Mohammadian Amiri. (2023). A comparative study of guaranty contracts in general jurisprudence, Islamic jurisprudence, and contemporary laws. Kurdish Studies, 11(3).
Boughaba, NabÄ«l IbrÄhÄ«m. (2003). Naẓariyyat al-Iltizam: AḥkÄm al-Iltizam Theory of obligation: Rules of obligation]. Alexandria: Munshaʾat al-MaÊ¿Ärif.
Charles Aubry & Charles Rau. (1869). Cours de Droit Civil Français (4th ed.). Paris: Librairie Hachette et Cie.
David Nadler Prata, Humberto Xavier De Araújo, Cleorbete Santos & Pratham Patel. (2021). A literature review about smart contracts technology. International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science, 8(2), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.22161/ijaers.82.1
Firas Al-Abed Abbas. (2008). Al-Taʿahhud ʿan al-Ghayr fi al-Qanun al-Madani: Dirasah Muqaranah [Promising for a third party in civil law: A comparative study]. Alexandria: Dar al-Jamiʿah al-Jadidah.
Ibn QudÄmah, Muwaffaq al-DÄ«n. (n.d.). Al-MughnÄ« (Contemporary ed.). Cairo: Maktabat al-QÄhirah.
Ibn Rushd. (n.d.). Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid (Vol. 2). Beirut: Dar Al-Kotob Al-Ilmiyah.
Ibn Taymiyyah, TaqÄ« al-DÄ«n Aḥmad. (1328 AH). MajmÅ«Ê¿ al-FatÄwÄ. Madina: King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy QurʾÄn.
Jean Goudemet. (1935). Éléments de Droit Civil. Paris: Domat Montchrestien.
John Salmond. (1907). Jurisprudence. London: Sweet & Maxwell.
Joseph Weber. (1950). Elements of Contract Law. London: Butterworths.
Julien Bonnecase. (1928). Traité Théorique et Pratique de Droit Civil (2nd ed.). Paris: Librairie Générale de Droit et de Jurisprudence.
M. Bordrbala. (2023). Musaḥamat al-TaÊ¿lÄ«m al-QÄnÅ«nÄ« fÄ« al-Taá¹wÄ«r al-TashrÄ«Ê¿Ä« li-QÄnÅ«n al-Ê¿UqÅ«d al-JazÄʾirÄ«. Algiers: ASJP.
Marcel Planiol. (1900). Traité Élémentaire de Droit Civil. Paris: Librairie Générale de Droit et de Jurisprudence.
Oumkeltoum Boughaba & Naima Mekkaoui. (2025). Special methods for terminating a commercial agency contract. Sustainable Development Goals Journal, 13(2), e4309. https://doi.org/10.55908/sdgs.v13i2.4309
Panchenko, S. S. (2025). Peculiarities of defining the term of simultaneous civil law contracts. Journal of Civil Law Studies, 45–56. https://doi.org/10.24144/2788-6018.2025.03.1.45
Popescu, Tudor R. (2015). Some aspects of the principle of relativity effects of the contract in the light of the Romanian new civil code. Journal of Advanced Research in Law and Economics, 6(2[12]), 299–309. https://doi.org/10.14505/jarle.v6.2(12).05
René Capitant. (1923). De la Cause des Obligations. Paris: Dalloz.
Robert Joseph Pothier. (1761). Traité des Obligations. Paris: Chez les frères Debure.
Shams al-Din al-Sarakhsi. (1090). Al-Mabsut. Beirut: Dar al-Maʿrifah.
Souad Ezzerouali & Yassine Chami. (2023). Inclusion of definitions in legislative drafting: A necessity or a luxury? Mazahib, 22(1), 37–64.
Wahbah al-ZuḥaylÄ«. (2007). Al-Fiqh al-IslÄmÄ« wa Adillatuh [Islamic jurisprudence and its evidences]. Damascus: DÄr al-Fikr.
Yassine Chami & Maya Khater. (2025). The influence of Maliki jurisprudence on the French civil law in terms of the opposability of the relative effect of contract to third parties: A comparative study. Malaysian Journal of Syariah and Law, 13(1), 123–133.
Yassine Chami, Ahmad Ahmad, Mohamad Hidayat Muhtar, Kevin M. Rivera, & Viorizza Suciani Putri. (2024). Admissibility of lawsuits based on interest under Algerian civil and administrative procedures. Jambura Law Review, 6(2), 286–303.
Yongshun Xu, Heap-Yih Chong & Ming Chi. (2021). A review of smart contracts applications in various industries: A procurement perspective. Advances in Civil Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5530755
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2025-12-15
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Re-Evaluating Contractual Relativity: Third-Party Effects in Islamic and Positive Legal Frameworks. (2025). Mazahib, 24(2), 309-328. https://doi.org/10.21093/mj.v24i2.11151
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