promisee

Promisee is a legal term used in contract law to denote the party to whom a promise is made by the promisor. In a bilateral contract, the promisee is the recipient of another party's promise to perform or to refrain from an action. The promisee has the right to demand performance of the promised act and may sue the promisor for breach if the promise is not kept. The promisee’s consideration is typically the return promise or other value provided in exchange for the promisor’s promise; in many contracts, both parties are each other’s promisor and promisee.

In practice, the term helps distinguish roles within the contract. The counterpart is the promisor, the party who makes the promise. In unilateral contracts, the promisee is the person who is entitled to receive the promised performance upon completing the requested act, while the promisor is the one who makes the promise to perform upon completion.

Rights and remedies of a promisee arise from the contract. If the promisor breaches, the promisee may seek damages, specific performance, or other relief defined by the contract and applicable law. The ability to transfer or assign the promisee’s rights to another party may be possible in some cases through assignment or delegation, subject to contract terms and legal constraints.

The term is most commonly used in common law jurisdictions. In many discussions, the concepts are described more generally as the party to whom a promise is made and who may enforce the promise if it is not fulfilled.