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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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Contract Documents

Dr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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Contract documents

• It is a universal practice in construction for the contract to be formalized by written documents

• The basic purpose of a written contract is to define exactly and explicitly the rights and obligations of each party to it

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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FIDIC’s definition of Contract

Sub-Clause 1.1.1 [Contract]

• means the Contract Agreement, the Letter of Acceptance, the Letter of Tender, these Conditions, the Specifications, the Drawings, the Schedules, and the further documents (if any) which are listed in the Contract Agreement or in the Letter of Acceptance

End of Quote

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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The agreement

• Is made between the Employer and the Contractor

• Records those items agreed to by the Parties

• Constitutes legal evidence that a contract exists and forms the basis for its enforcement

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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• Form annexed to the Jordanian Particular Conditions

Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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Letter of Acceptance as defined by FIDIC99

• Letter of Acceptance

• means the letter of formal acceptance, signed by the Employer, of the Letter of Tender, including any annexed memoranda comprising agreements between and signed by both Parties

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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• If there is no such letter of acceptance, the expression “Letter of Acceptance” means the Contract Agreement and the date issuing or receiving the Letter of Acceptance means the date of signing the Contract Agreement

End of Quote ©F

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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• FIDIC suggests the following phrasing for Letter of Acceptance:– For and on behalf of ….., we accepted the

offer contained in your Letter of Tender dated …. to [design], execute and complete the above-named works and remedy any defects therein, for the Accepted Contract Amount of ….Unless and until a formal Agreement is prepared and executed, the Contract shall comprise the following documents:

[list of documents, with appropriate references /dates]

Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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Letter of Tender as defined by FIDIC99

• Letter of Tender

• means the document entitled letter of tender, which was completed by the Contractor and includes the signed offer to the Employer for the Works

End of Quote

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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General Conditions

• Define the rights and obligations of the Parties (i.e., Employer, Engineer, Contractor)

• Describe the guidelines that will be used in the administration of the contract

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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• In the past, the Jordanian General Conditions were known as

)الشروط العامة(عقد المقاولة الموحد •

• Which was a slightly modified version of the famous FIDIC 87 Red Book: FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Works designed by the Employer

• In 2003, Jordan decided to adopt FIDIC 1999 Conditions of Contract

Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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FIDIC General Conditions of Contract for Construction

• Organized in 20 Clauses

1. General provisions

2. The employer

3. The engineer

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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4. The contractor

5. Nominated subcontractors

6. Staff and labor

7. Plant, materials, and workmanship

8. Commencement, delays and suspension

9. Tests on completion

10.Employer’s taking over

11.Defects liability

12.Measurement and evaluation

Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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13.Variation and adjustments

14.Contract price and payments

15.Termination by employer

16.Suspension and termination by contractor

17.Risks and responsibility

18. Insurance

19.Force majeure

20.Claims, disputes and arbitration

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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Particular (special) Conditions

• Used to “tailor” the General Conditions for:

• The local construction market

• Project at hand

Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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• So, we utilize these Particular Conditions to:

(1) Modify the General Conditions

(2) Delete sub-clauses in the General Conditions

(3) Add sub-clauses to the General Conditions

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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Content of Particular Conditions

• Make use of the General Conditions format

• Clause 1: General provisions– Modify/add/delete

• Clause 2: The Employer• Clause 3: The Contractor • And so on ……..

Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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FIDIC Priority of Documents

Sub-Clause 1.5 [Priority of Documents]

• The documents forming the Contract are to be taken as mutually explanatory of one another

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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• For the purposes of interpretation, the priority of the documents shall be in accordance with the following sequence

• The Contract Agreement (if any)

• The Letter of Acceptance

• The Letter of Tender

• The Particular Conditions

• These General Conditions

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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(f) The Specifications

(g) The Drawings, and

(h) The Schedules and any other documents forming Part of the Contract

• If an ambiguity or discrepancy is found in the documents, the Engineer shall issue any necessary clarification or instruction

End of Quote

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Dept. of Civil Eng.Hashemite University

Construction Contracts AdministrationDr. Mohammad S. El-Mashaleh

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Order of precedence within drawings (Hutchings, 1998)

• Figures govern over scaled dimensions

• Detailed drawings govern over general drawings

• Variation orders drawings govern over contract drawings

• Contract drawings govern over shop drawings