State the proviso (9)
I believe the answer is:
condition
This clue is a double definition.
'state' is the first definition.
(I know that condition is a more specific form of the action contract)
'proviso' is the second definition.
(thesaurus)
'the' is the link.
(Other definitions for condition that I've seen before include "physical fitness" , "shape" , "term of the contract" , "Part of an agreement" , "State; proviso" .)