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What You Need To Know About A FIDIC Contract - Ipleaders
What You Need To Know About A FIDIC Contract - Ipleaders
This article is written by Vidhya Sumra who is pursuing a Diploma in Advanced Contract Drafting, Negotiation and Dispute Resolution from
LawSikho.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. What is FIDIC?
3. What is the main purpose of FIDIC?
4. Historical Background
5. Objectives of FIDIC
6. What are the FIDIC forms of Contract?
7. Features of FIDIC Contracts
8. What are the FIDIC General Conditions of the Contract (“GCC”)?
9. What are the FIDIC Particular Conditions of the Contract (“PCC”)?
10. Why is a hierarchy of documents important?
11. Golden Principles of FIDIC
11.1. Following are the FIDIC Golden Principles
12. Advantages of FIDIC
12.1. International standard
12.2. Focus on Projects
12.3. Price competition
12.4. Lower bid time and cost
12.5. Various types of Contracts
12.6. Practical clauses
12.7. Multiple languages
12.8. Bankability
12.9. Less Risk of Disputes
12.10. Neutral Contracts
12.11. Success Ratio
13. Disadvantages of FIDIC
13.1. Unfamiliarity by Local Contractors
13.2. Limited Judicial Consideration/Precedent
13.3. Customization
14. FIDIC in India
Introduction
In the last few years, we have seen substantial growth in the real estate and construction industries worldwide. The projects are now
becoming universal and inventive and it requires more expertise as the risks to the parties are increasing.
Therefore, engineers, contractors and builders are looking to execute international forms of contract for their projects, which will have a
clear scope of works, rights and obligations, and liabilities of the parties. Hence, FIDIC contracts are model contracts for such projects.
What is FIDIC?
FIDIC stands for Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs – Conseils, which means International Federation of Consulting Engineers. It
started in 1913 in Belgium and now has a membership of over 100 countries. Currently situated at the World Trade Center in
Geneva Switzerland. It is an international standard organisation for consulting engineering and construction are best known for the FIDIC
family of contract templates.
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It publishes standard forms of contracts for construction works, infrastructure projects, EPC/Turnkey projects, consultancy services, etc. and
publishes agreements for clients, consultants, sub-consultants and joint ventures together with related materials such as standard pre-
qualification form, performance guarantee form, letter of acceptance, etc.
FIDIC organises the annual conference and an extensive programme of seminars, workshops and training courses and other events in the
furtherance of its goals.
Historical Background
The origins of the FIDIC standard forms of the contract lie in the Institution of the Civil Engineers London form of contract, which was issued
in 1956 by UK-Engineers. In 1957, FIDIC adopted and published its first edition of a standard form of contract which is called the “Red
Book” for civil engineering works. Since then, FIDIC has regularly updated its standard forms of contract.
Objectives of FIDIC
One of the key objectives of FIDIC is to promote sound and effective project management of engineering works.
1. Provide the consulting engineers with standard forms of contract and other related documents like standard pre-qualification form,
performance guarantee form, letter of acceptance, etc.
2. To provide solutions on issues relating to consulting engineering by developing and promoting consulting engineering best practices.
3. Provide consulting engineers with the resources needed for their better image and reputation.
4. Promote and assist the worldwide development of viable consulting engineering industries, as the industry needs to maintain the best
practices and sustainable quality services.
6. Improve and develop FIDIC’s training and publishing activities that will make the organization visible and valued.
7. Promote and encourage the development of young professionals in the consulting engineering industry as they represent the future of the
industry.
The FIDIC Model Contracts are drafted for a wide range of projects. They are segregated by the colour given to the cover of the document in
which rules and regulations of the contracts are mentioned.
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The below table gives a brief overview of FIDIC contracts:
Type
FIDIC
Details
Contract
Conditions of contract for construction for building and engineering This is for the very common job works, designed
Red Book
works. mainly by the employer.
Green Conditions of contract for use on engineering and building works of This is the short form of the contract. It is used
Book relatively small capital value or where the construction time is short. mostly for simple, repetitive, short-duration jobs.
Conditions of contracts for use of building and engineering works The projects funded by certain MDBs, which are
Pink Book
designed by the employer. supranational institutions such as the World Bank.
2. The Letter of Acceptance (this is the formal acceptance of the contractor’s tender and usually presents the point in time when Contractual
Parties enter into the Contract, but this depends on the local regulations);
6. The Specification;
7. The Drawings;
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The main purpose of the hierarchy is that documents have precedence based on the time of their origin and parties can exclude or limit the
parts of the documents previously produced.
The FIDIC Golden Principles were launched at the FIDIC Asia Pacific Contract Users’ Conference in Hong Kong on 25th June, 2019. In order
to promote acceptance and understanding:
Each Golden Principle expresses a single, readily understood and generally accepted concept;
The FIDIC Golden Principles are limited to the minimum number necessary for completeness.
3. The particular conditions must not change the balance of risk/reward allocation provided for in the general conditions.
4. All time periods specified in the contract for contract participants to perform their obligations must be of reasonable duration.
5. All formal disputes must be referred to a dispute avoidance/adjudication board (or DAB, if applicable) for a provisionally binding decision
as a condition precedent to arbitration.
Advantages of FIDIC
As informed above, the FIDIC Model Contracts are widely accepted by the construction industries as they offer several advantages. The
advantages of using the FIDIC Model Contracts are following:
International standard
FIDIC is a true international standard. Therefore, the FIDIC Model Contracts are familiar to contractors throughout the world and are widely
accepted.
Focus on Projects
To execute a new contract, the parties have to start from the base, which needs a lot of time starting from appointing lawyers until the
contract is executed. By using the FIDIC Model Contracts, the parties can focus directly on the project and can manage the risk efficiently.
Price competition
Most contractors worldwide use the FIDIC Model Contracts as it allows increased bid lists and encourages more price competition amongst
tenderers. Therefore, ultimately it provides value for money.
Practical clauses
The FIDIC Model Contracts are already intended for use on major projects thus practical clauses like the scope of work, rights and
obligations, liabilities of the parties are covered.
Multiple languages
The FIDIC Model Contracts are published in up to 20 different languages including major languages like Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian,
French and Spanish. This means lower translation cost where the contracts need translation into the foreign language of the other party.
Bankability
Most of the international banks including Multilateral Development Banks are using the FIDIC Model Contracts, which eases obtaining
approval from the bank for the contracts.
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Neutral Contracts
Another advantage of the FIDIC Model Contracts is that it is fair and neutral. It balances the obligations and duties of the parties, as they
are not drafted in favour of one party and protects the interest of both parties.
Success Ratio
Since the FIDIC Model Contracts are accepted worldwide and are easier to use, the parties will be more confident as these contracts can
impact significantly on the efficiency and success of the projects.
Disadvantages of FIDIC
However, FIDIC Model Contracts are widely accepted and there are several advantages as well, but in some situations, they seem to create
some issues with it. Following are few disadvantages to the FIDIC Model Contracts:
Customization
As we know, every project is different and customization is necessary for every project. To implement modifications in the contract, they
tend to shift commercial terms to the schedules of the contract. Moreover, it becomes an exhausting experience as all technical and legal
details are put together in the schedules of the contract.
FIDIC in India
The FIDIC Model Contracts are used all over the world including the Government of India for executing projects. Consulting Engineers
Association of India (CEAI) is the apex body of consulting engineers in India. CEAI is the only Member Association from India representing
the Indian Engineering Consultancy profession at the FIDIC. CEAI membership comprises individual consulting engineers working
independently, private and public sector engineering consulting firms and firms engaged in activities related to engineering consultancy.
In India, in recent times, international competitive bidding has become a model in infrastructure projects. Some of these projects include
the mega power projects, railways, telecommunications, airports, highways, ports, etc.
The national highway development in India is mainly financed by the World Bank and the World Bank and the other multilateral development
banks emphasize incorporating the FIDIC terms into their tender documentation. However, in India, the contracts are developed by the
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and projects are based on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (“EPC”) contract scheme
laid down by the National Highway Authority of India (“NHAI”) guidelines. EPC stands for Engineering, Procurement and Construction. Under
an EPC delivery model, an EPC contractor will generally be responsible for the design, construction and commissioning of a facility.
Let us compare the selected clauses and various features regarding the execution of highway construction projects based on EPC mode of
NHAI conditions of contract with FIDIC contract. The below points will highlight the difference between the documents prepared based on
EPC and FIDIC.
The FIDIC and EPC contract by NHAI brings out similar clauses regarding the security deposit. It is observed that FIDIC specifies clear
guidelines regarding precautions and procedures for suspension of work due to poor workmanship while NHAI specifies a performance
bond to guarantee workmanship.
FIDIC provides an extension of time clause to be determined by the engineer based on the early warning provided by the contractor due
to unprecedented factors while NHAI specifies the extension of time-based on the discretion of the engineer in charge.
While NHAI specifies clear guidelines and a hierarchy of responsibility to grant the variation of work, FIDIC specifies that variation of work
other than the omission of work can be executed by the contractor with the consent of the engineer based on value engineering
principles.
Even though dispute resolution by both the EPC contract of NHAI and FIDIC model is based on similar time-bound procedures, wide
contrast exists in the settlement of claims by both systems as NHAI does not specify an intermediate resolution paving the way to
arbitration and court litigation.
In conclusion, the FIDIC Model Contracts are drafted for major construction projects and have been successfully used on thousands of
projects by contractors across the world. It provides various benefits as they improve the chances of success of the project. These facts lead
to the logical conclusion that the FIDIC Contracts should become the standard starting point for construction contracts worldwide where
foreign contractors are involved on major projects.
References
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1. Fidic.org
2. construction-claim.com
3. thenbs.com
4. ceai.org.in
5. https://www.stempkowski.at/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/NWB_10_008_006.pdf
6. https://fidic.org/sites/default/files/151023-SOCLA%202015-Reece%20Allen-Paper%20on%20FIDIC.pdf
7. https://fidic.org/sites/default/files/FIDIC%20Objectives_2018.pdf
8. Comparative study on Indian Highway Construction Project by Arun Chandramohan and Vinay Mohan Agrawal
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