Construction Law for FIDIC Red Book Contract- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theConstruction Law for FIDIC Red Book Contract. Answer: The FIDIC red book contract governs the construction project for road works. I was employed under a contractor to work in the construction of the roads project. Despite the fact that the contractor had assembled resources, which includes men and equipments for the road construction work, the employer, did not grant possession of the site to the contractor. The Red Book entails contract that deals with civil engineering sector, which is distinct from the electrical/mechanical engineering sector[1]. The building contracts stipulate the obligations either of the employer that he owes to the contractor expressly or in an implied manner. The two most essential obligation of the employer with respect to any building contract entered into with the contractor are as follows: The employer is obligated to co-operate with the contractor that is, the employer must provide the contractor with a suitable position, which enables the employer to fulfill his/her obligations stipulated under the contract. The employer is obligated to make payments to the contractor for the works that have been carried out by the contractor with respect to the construction work. Even if the employer delegates his obligations to some other persons but she shall be held responsible for the performance of his stipulated obligations. In London Borough of Merton v Stanley Hugh Leach Ltd [1985][2], it was held that the employer must not engage in any conduct that would hinder the obligations of the employer under the contract. There are certain building contracts that expressly stipulates the obligation of the employer to give the contractor an access to the construction site with a view to carry out the construction work. According to clause 2.4 of the JCT SBC/Q 2016 on the date of possession of the site or possession of the relevant section of the site shall be given to the contractor who shall commence the construction of the work or the section of the site. The contractor thereafter shall proceed with the construction work diligently and regularly and is entitled to complete the construction work on or before the date of completion stipulated in the contract. According to clause 2.1 of the FIDIC suite 1999, the employer shall be entitled to provide the contractor with the right to possession of and access to all the parts of the site within the stipulated time[3]. The employer is entitled to give the contractor with the right to access and the possession of the site within such period that would enable the contractor to proceed with the construction work. As per sub-clause 20.1, in the event of any delay or if the contractor had to incur expenses owing to the failure of the employer to provide the contractor with the right to access or possession of the construction site, the contractor shall be entitled to serve notice to the Engineer and make claims in respect to the following grounds: an extension of time for causing such delay, in case the delay occurs in completing the construction under sub-clause 8.4; and payment for any such expenses incurred and any reasonable profit that shall be included within the Contract price However, the contractor shall not be liable to make any claims if the delay results from any conduct or omission on part of the contractor[4]. In our scenario, the employer caused delay in granting the possession of the construction site, which amounts to the breach of the primary obligation of the employer to cooperate with the contractor by giving the possession of the site[5]. Under such circumstances, the contractor was entitled to serve notice upon the employer for extension of time and for making payments made with respect to the contract under clause 2.1 of the FIDIC suite 1999. The reason for delaying the grant of possession of the site was on part of the employer and the contractor was not responsible for the same. Since the employer failed to grant us the possession of the construction site within the stipulated time, it would entitle us to claim for an additional time than the original time stipulated in the contract. The delay also resulted in the delay in the completion of construction of the sectional areas[6]. As per the JCT suite 2016, the employer is prohibited from re-entering into the construction site after granting the possession to the contractor. The employer may enter upon the construction site and take possession of the site as per clause 8.7 of JCT suite 2016 or when the contract is terminated owing to the fault on part of the contractor as per clause 8.4 of the JCT suite 2016. On the facts here, we were supposed to finish the construction of some of the sectional areas but due to some reasons that were beyond the control of the contractor. However, since we could not complete the construction of the sectional areas, the engineers imposed penalty in the subsequent interim payment, which was, nevertheless, reversed when we succeeded in claiming additional time. Nevertheless, in order to establish that the delay was not intentional, we had to prove that the contractor had acted diligently and have carried out the construction work based on good trade practices. Furthermore, we succeeded in establishing the fact that the delay caused was not deliberate as it was beyond the control of the contractor and he had taken reasonable measures to avoid any such delay[7]. In addition, the delay did not cause the employer to suffer any financial loss of any manner, which further signifies that the contractor had carried out the construction work applying good trade pract ices. To sum up the entire experience, the Contract Administrator opined that the employer had failed to perform his obligations by causing delay in granting the possession of the construction site, which has further cause delay in commencing the construction of the sectional areas of the construction site. Hence, under clause 8.4 and 20.1, the contractor was entitled to claim for extended time or money to complete the project and to the extent that completion for the purposes stipulated in sub-clause 10.1 of the FIDIC suite of 1999[8]. The contractor should serve such notice of claim within 28 days from the date he became aware of the circumstances that entitled to make such claim. As per the answer provided by my classmate, it is well structured and the provisions included in the assignment are relevant. My fellow classmate has successfully discussed the provisions relating to the rights, obligations of employer and contractor with respect to construction work. In the event of delay in granting the possession of the site, it may entitle the contractor to claim extension of time and monetary compensation for any expenses incurred by the contractor due to the delay of the employer in granting the site possession as per JCT suite 2016 and FIDIC 1999. Reference List Baker, E., Mellors, B., Chalmers, S., Lavers, A. (2013).FIDIC contracts: Law and practice. CRC Press. Brook, M. (2016).Estimating and tendering for construction work. Taylor Francis. Chappell, D. (2017).The JCT Minor Works Building Contracts 2016. John Wiley Sons. London Borough of Merton v Stanley Hugh Leach Ltd [1985] 32 B.L.R. 51 Powell, G. (2016).Construction Contract Preparation and Management: From Concept to Completion. Palgrave Macmillan. Sinclair, S. T. A. C. Y. (2016).designing+(dis) assembling disputes: an ethnography of disputes lawyers in the construction industry(Doctoral dissertation, University of Westminster). Wang, J. D. (2015, September). The Duality of the Engineer as Contractor Administrator under FIDIC Contract Conditions. InAdvanced Material Engineering: Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Advanced Material Engineering(p. 379). World Scientific. Wilkens, V., Viljoen, P. (2014, April). Fidic red book 1999 equally responsive to all parties to the contract with regard to the claims and dispute resolution procedure. InProceedings in GV-Global Virtual Conference(No. 1).