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Contract Administration

The curse of the bespoke amendment

by Philip Adams

I am increasingly fascinated by the extent to which clients and to a certain extent their lawyers, feel compelled to amend standard forms of contract, especially, bearing in mind the involvement of such organisations in the initial drafting. Next time you look at the Fidic Red Book for example, take a look at the ‘acknowledgements’ as these make for very interesting reading.

The ‘acknowledgements’ state that the drafts were reviewed by many persons and organisations, and that their comments were ‘duly studied by the Update Task Group and, where considered appropriate, have influenced the wording of the clauses.’ …

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Construction Industry, Contract Administration, General Management

Key points while entering into a joint venture in the Middle East

by James Bremen

The use of joint ventures or consortiums are attractive because they allow contractors, consultants and financiers to team up and offer owners a single interface for all needs of a project.

Owners are increasingly requiring that consortiums be formed to provide a single point responsibility and to ensure bidders have the ability to perform the scope of work.

In light of this development, this article seeks to highlight some of the key legal and practical issues, which should be considered when entering into a joint venture or consortium agreement. The term “consortium” is used throughout the article to refer to both “consortium” and “joint venture.” …

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Contract Administration, Project Management

Be careful when you terminate a contract

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In the current economic climate, there is growing interest in whether a contract can be cancelled, if one party is no longer able to fulfil its obligations due to financial difficulties.

A basic principle of contract law is that the contracting parties must perform their obligations with good faith and in a manner consistent with the contract. However, subject to this basic principle, a party to a contract that is subject to UAE law, can seek to end the contract in one of three ways: …

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PMP Hints, Project Management

Being a Client

A successful project requires a good client. Each project is unique and to achieve the right design outcome and design quality a strong team of designers need to work with a strong client group with focus and leadership. Delivering a capital project from start to finish is complex and challenging but also hugely rewarding. The role of the client is fundamental to its success. …

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PMP Hints

Engage the Client Early in Issues Management

Engage the Client Early in Issues Management
Issues management tends to go more smoothly when the entire project team is comfortable working through the issues management process from the very start. If issues arise early in a project, be sure to follow your issues management process and get the client engaged in the solution. Issues become more urgent as you get closer to your end-date. Don’t let these be the first issues the client gets involved with. Earlier issues management experience will cause the client to see issues as just temporary hurdles that need to be overcome. If you haven’t engaged the client earlier in the issues management process, the client may cause more harm than good when you absolutely need him at the end, since he is not familiar with the issues management process.

Issues management tends to go more smoothly when the entire project team is comfortable working through the issues management process from the very start. …

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Contract Administration, Procurement Management, Project Management

What should Clients do when dealing with one tenderer only?

By Samer H Skaik

Sometimes, clients face difficulty to procure projects due to absence of competitors. The risk of how to secure value for money is extremely high when dealing with one single contractor to quote and execute the works. This article gives significant guidelines for which client can follow to minimize such risk and achieve value for money:

…

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Contract Administration

The disappearance of the impartial engineer

by Chau Ee Lee, international construction lawyer of Reed Smith, discusses fundamental changes to the engineer’s role in standard contracts.
 
The Conditions of Contract for Construction for Building and Engineering Works Designed by the Employer, one of FIDIC’s “new” 1999 suite of standard form contracts, sometimes known as the New Red Book, is used regularly in this region. …

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