Introduction
“Can I have a JCT SBC AQ 2005, including Rev 1 2007 please? Oh and by the way, it's urgent.”
It's the kind of enquiry which fills most law librarians and legal information professionals with dread and bewilderment! Construction contracts are published by a variety of publishers. Most of them are known by lawyers and end-users by code names and, finally, they are not freely available on the internet.
Greg Rose
The intention of this article is to bring about some semblance of order to the chaos which is the world of construction contracts. I will outline the main publishers of UK construction contracts, then look at sources for obtaining the contracts in both hard copy and electronic versions. Finally, I will explain how to keep them up-to-date. The article includes numerous links to websites, and I have linked whenever possible directly to the webpage with details of the contracts, rather than just a publisher's home page. I discuss details of the main UK construction contracts. There are also a number of contracts specific to Scottish, Northern Irish or Irish law which I will not cover in this article, though maybe someone reading this from these jurisdictions would like to write a sister article to this one for Legal Information Management… ?
Until quite recently “construction contracts” were more commonly referred to as “building and engineering contracts” though, from an information point of view at least, it is better to consider and refer to the vast array of contracts available as simply “construction contracts”. Many of these contracts (including most of those published by ACE, RIBA and RICS) are actually consultants' appointments, rather than construction contracts, but it is best to consider them all as construction contracts. The two main publishers of UK construction contracts are the JCT and the NEC. I will look at these first, before outlining the major contracts produced by other publishing bodies.
JCT and NEC (ICE) – the big two
The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCTFootnote 1) was established in 1931 and has for over 75 years produced standard forms of contracts, guidance notes and other documentation for use in the construction industry. JCT generally produces a new suite of contracts every few years - the latest edition being the JCT 05 suite. Despite being launched by JCT in 2005, a few of the JCT 05 contracts have still not been published, whilst others have already been re-issued to incorporate amendments (“Revision 1 versions”). Fortunately, JCT maintains a list of publication datesFootnote 2 on their website.
The JCT 05 contracts are published by JCT in partnership with Sweet & Maxwell. The previous suite of JCT contracts was published in 1998, with the suite before that originating in 1980. These earlier editions were published in partnership with RIBA Publications.
Similarly to the JCT 05 suite, amendments to these editions were also published, both as loose amendments and in consolidated form (e.g. there were five amendments to most JCT 98 contracts, with versions of each contract incorporating Amendment 1, Amendments 1 and 2, Amendments 1, 2 and 3, etc, published as the amendments were incorporated into the contracts).
The JCT 05 contract suiteFootnote 3 contains a bewildering array of over 70 contracts and guidance publications which are listed under 19 subject headings. Additionally, many of the contracts that existed in the JCT 98 suite have been renamed, and in some cases discontinued altogether in the JCT 05 suite. Fortunately, the JCT website includes a very useful migration pageFootnote 4 showing which 05 contract has superseded each 98 publication.
The most recent suite of NEC (New Engineering Contracts) is known as NEC3Footnote 5 and was published in 2005. NEC3 consists of 22 documents including contracts, guidance notes and flow charts. It is likely to become even more popular over the next few years as it has been chosen by the Olympic Delivery Authority as the preferred form of contract for the 2012 Games.
NEC3 was preceded by the NEC2Footnote 6 suite which was mostly published in 1995, with a few contracts appearing between 1998 and 2001. Both the NEC3 and NEC2 suites are still available to purchase via the NEC's website. The NEC's first edition of contracts (“NEC1”) was published between 1993 and 1994.
The NEC contracts are published by Thomas Telford, who also publish a second suite of contracts, the ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers) Conditions of ContractFootnote 7 series. The most popular contracts within this series are the ICE Conditions of Contract Measurement Version, which is now in its 7th edition, and the ICE Conditions of Contract Design & Construct, which is in its 2nd edition.
Other main publishers
The ACA (Association of Consultant Architects)Footnote 8 publishes a number of construction contracts. In 2000, it published the first construction industry multi-party partnering contract PPC2000Footnote 9 in partnership with Trowers & Hamlins. They have since published further domestic partnering contracts, all of which have been updated in 2008, as well as international versions in 2007. They have also just published a new Standard Form of Agreement for the Appointment of an Architect (September 2008).
The ACE (Association for Consulting and Engineering)Footnote 10 publishes a suite of popular contracts which were mostly last revised in 2004. It has also co-authored the MF/1 and MF/2Footnote 11 model forms of general conditions of contract with the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
The CIC (Construction Industry Council)Footnote 12 publishes a range of contracts, including three contracts on collateral warranty and their popular Model Adjudication Procedure. In 2007, it brought out a suite of three contract publications on conditions of contract and scope of services.Footnote 13
FIDIC (International Federation of Consulting Engineers)Footnote 14 is the highly-respected major publisher of international construction contracts. Based in Switzerland, it published four leading international contracts in 1999 (the Short Form, Plant & DB, Construction and Turnkey contracts which are known colloquially as the green, yellow, red and silver books respectively), with the Client-Consultant Agreement and Construction MDB Harmonised Edition among its publications since this date.
The comprehensive GC WorksFootnote 15 suite of contracts were written in the late 1990s by the Property Advisers to the Civil Estate and published by the Stationery Office. Despite their age, they are still popular and highly sought after – especially the GC/Works/1 contracts.
IChemE (Institution of Chemical Engineers)Footnote 16 publishes a suite of UK construction contracts known colloquially by their colours, as well as rules for arbitration, adjudication and expert determination. In 2007, it brought out four international forms of contract, the agreements and particular conditions of which are freely available from their website.
Most of RIBA's (Royal Institute of British Architects)Footnote 17 construction contracts are standard agreements for the appointment of construction professionals or professional services, such as architects, consultants and sub-consultants. A new suite of these RIBA AgreementsFootnote 18 was published in 2007. The website still contains details of the previous appointing documents published in 1999 (most of which were updated in 2004).
RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors)Footnote 19 also specialises in appointment contracts and has just brought out a new suite of forms. These 2008 appointment forms are for building surveyors, CDM co-ordinators, employer's agents, project managers, project monitors and quantity surveyors. They are already proving quite popular and have had good reviews in the construction press.
Other publishers
In addition to the main publishers listed above, there are also a number of other bodies or publishers known primarily for what are often very specific construction contracts. Among these are the JCLI (Joint Committee for Landscape Industries),Footnote 20 who have just brought out a new 2008 edition of their popular Landscape Works Contract. The Fire Protection Association'sFootnote 21 Code of Practice on the Protection from Fire of Construction Sites and Buildings Undergoing Renovation is also frequently sought by construction lawyers, as is the Chartered Institute of Building'sFootnote 22 Facilities Management Contract, which is written in association with CMS Cameron McKenna.
Old editions
In the legal sector in particular, it is worth keeping one copy of all previous editions or versions of each construction contract, as lawyers are often asked by clients to look at files where a historical version of a construction contract is quoted. Unfortunately, this takes up a fair amount of shelf space as, for example, JCT published a new consolidated version of most of their 98 contracts after each of the five amendments. If you do not have the specific old edition you require in stock, it is worth contacting the publisher, as most of the publishing bodies are increasingly aware that there is a demand for previous versions of their contracts, and may be able to help you. Failing this, the best sources are probably friends working in other law libraries, or asking colleagues in the legal information sector if they can help you via an e-mail list such as lis-law.
Sources for obtaining construction contracts
The most obvious source (and occasionally the only source) for obtaining a construction contract is directly from the publishers. Most of the organisations mentioned above have specific publishing companies, who operate highly professional and speedy services. Many can now provide a contract for next day delivery, though often this is only available via payment by credit card with an extra fee on top for urgent delivery. For more urgent requests, you could also try the following bookshops:
• RIBA have bookshopsFootnote 23 in London (both West End and Chelsea bookstores), Manchester, Belfast, Birmingham and Liverpool. The London West End bookshop stocks the greatest range of contracts, including JCT, NEC, GC Works, ACA, ACE, CIC and others, as well as RIBA's own contracts. The other bookshops contain some of these contracts. All of these contracts, as well as FIDIC and some other bodies' contracts can be ordered, if required less urgently, via RIBA's website.Footnote 24
• The ICE/Thomas Telford Bookshop,Footnote 25 located on the ground floor of the ICE in Great George Street, London, stocks JCT, IChemE and FIDIC contracts, as well as the NEC and ICE contracts. They can also be ordered via the bookshop's website.
• RICS has bookshopsFootnote 26 in London, Coventry and Cardiff. The London bookshop stocks the greatest range of contracts, including most JCT, ICE, NEC, GC Works and ACE contracts, as well as some FIDIC and IChemE contracts and some others. The other bookshops hold some of these contracts. Many can also be ordered, if required less urgently, via RICS's website.Footnote 27
• The Building Centre BookshopFootnote 28 in London stocks the complete JCT suite of contracts, as well as some of the contracts of most other bodies, including FIDIC and IChemE.
Construction contracts can also be purchased from general (e.g. Amazon) or specialist online bookshops. One of the best-known specialist online stores is Construction Books Direct.Footnote 29
Electronic versions of construction contracts
The provision of electronic versions of construction contracts varies greatly from publisher to publisher, with some publishers able to provide electronic versions which can be edited to a certain extent, others able to provide PDFs only, and some unable to provide electronic copies at all. Hardly any major construction contracts are freely available on the internet, though amendments and some associated publications are usually available from the publisher's website.
The big two publishers can provide editable electronic versions of their contracts. JCT Contracts Digital Service,Footnote 30 the successor to JCT Forms on Disk, includes a networkable CD containing contracts and other documentation, along with access to regular online updates, which are incorporated into new editions of the CDs. A Complete or Small Works edition can be purchased, with the cost depending on the number of users. JCT Contracts Digital includes the JCT 05 and JCT 98 suites of contracts and can be purchased via RIBAFootnote 31 or RICS.Footnote 32 It has received some criticism within the legal information and professional support lawyer communities, particularly with regards to its ease of use and the complicated process of purchasing print credits, though the good news is that Sweet & Maxwell are working on improving the service and hoping to launch a revamped CD by the end of 2008 or early in 2009.
NEC3 contracts can also be accessed and edited online via NEC3 Digital,Footnote 33 which provides three levels of service for different levels of user. All these services – eView, ePrint and eCorporateFootnote 34 - can include access to all 22 NEC3 contracts, though individual contracts can also be purchased via the eView and ePrint services.Footnote 35
RIBAFootnote 36 and RICSFootnote 37 provide online access to their recent suites of contracts. FIDIC also provide PDF access to most of their contracts via their main contracts web page,Footnote 38 though I have encountered problems downloading these when using this service. A highly-recommended alternative service is available via Powerdoc,Footnote 39 which provides online access to FIDIC's 1999 contracts, and some older documents, though sadly not any of their more recent contracts.
IChemE can provide licensed electronic versions of most of their contracts as Word documents (contact the Publications DepartmentFootnote 40 for further details and prices). Unfortunately, I've been told that ACA only provide downloadable versions of most of their contracts to their (restricted) membership. The ICE Conditions of Contract series is not available online at all, though I would suggest contacting them, or any of the other bodies, should you require electronic copies of their contracts. The publication departments concerned are often helpful and, even if they cannot provide you with an online copy, they will at least register your interest and, if enough people request them, may provide online copies in the future.
Keeping up-to-date
It's one thing obtaining a construction contract but unfortunately quite another matter keeping up-to-date with any changes to the contract or new editions. In researching for this article, I contacted the publishers to ask if they supplied contracts on standing order or had any kind of current awareness service. The results were varied to say the least.
The main standing order service for construction contracts is the Campus ServiceFootnote 41 provided by RIBA, which can supply all new JCT, RIBA and RICS contracts on standing order, as well as providing a free updating service through which customers can select the new contracts or books that they wish to order. The RIBA is currently looking into expanding this service to cover some of the other main publishers of construction contracts. The IChemE can also provide account holders with their new contracts on automatic standing order. The other bodies who responded cannot supply their new contracts automatically, though some contact previous customers by e-mail or postal flyer when new versions of a contract are about to be published.
It is probably a good idea to get on any such mailing lists, as I am unaware of any e-mail or other service providing details of all new construction contracts or amendments. The RIBA produces a weekly new books e-mail serviceFootnote 42 which includes contracts and forms, though unfortunately only their own publications. NEC also publishes a regular newsletter which highlights any forthcoming contracts and amendments, though this is only available to paying subscribers of their User Group.Footnote 43JCT also provides a free service,Footnote 44 whereby people who sign up are notified when their website is updated, though I have only found this to be of limited use. Maybe RSS feeds are the best way forward – particularly as some publishers include details of minor amendments to their contracts on their websites and don't publicise them elsewhere.
There is a clear need for some kind of service providing details of all new construction contracts or amendments published by all the major publishing bodies. In the meantime, it's probably best to continue to ask if there is any kind of e-mail list informing customers of new contracts whenever you purchase a current edition, as well as looking in the construction press – the weekly journal BuildingFootnote 45 often includes quite detailed legal articles about new construction contracts.
Conclusion
There will always be an element of chaos in the world of construction contracts, though hopefully this article has brought about some semblance of order. I believe that it includes details of all the major sources for obtaining construction contracts and keeping up-to-date, though I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has found any other sources.
Biography
Greg Rose has been an Information Officer in the Library of CMS Cameron McKenna since 1996. One of his many responsibilities is managing the firm's construction contracts collection in close liaison with the Construction Practice Group.
