INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS

Standard Forms of Contract That Are Feasible For the Procurement of the Infrastructure Works



Standard Forms of Contract That Are Feasible For the Procurement of the Infrastructure

Introduction

The increasing use of standard form contracts is a subject which concerns everybody much more than is commonly realised and one to which lawyers have paid only casual attention. Standard Form Contracts are agreements that employ standardized, non-negotiated provisions, usually in preprinted forms.  These are sometimes referred to as “boilerplate contracts,” "contracts of adhesion," or "take it or leave it" contracts. The terms, often portrayed in fine print, are drafted by or on behalf of one party to the transaction - the party with superior bargaining power who routinely engages in such transactions.  With few exceptions, the terms are not negotiable by the consumer.

Definition Of Standard Forms Of Contract

The words “standard form contract ” will be used to include every contract, whether simple or under seal and whether contained in one or more documents, one of the parties to which habitually makes contracts of the same type in a particular form and will allow little, if any, variation from that form. The average man, the man in the street or on the Clapham omnibus, is continually making such contracts and the probability is that they are the most important contracts that he ever makes. (Agarwal et al 2008: 45-61) If he rents his house from the local authority or the owner of an estate his tenancy agreement will be in a standard form; he will have been supplied with gas and electricity only if he has signed a printed form of agreement; any item of furniture which he has bought on the hire-purchase system will be the subject of an agreement designed by a finance company; his wireless set, his motor-car and most of his electrical equipment will have been sold to him subject to standard terms. His work, if he is a manual worker in a large undertaking, a civil servant,' a local government officer or an employee of a big organisation, will almost certainly be based upon a contract of service, the conditions of which are set out in a printed document. His journey to and from work will be the subject of a contract of carriage on abstruse but unalterable conditions, and at least one of his leisure time activities, his football “pools,” will be carried on subject to the most rigid regulations.

Range Of Standard Forms Of Contract

Standard forms of construction contract or alternatively entitled model forms of contract, have been developed by various institutions and bodies that represent different parts of the construction industry. Generally these standard forms relate to specific aspects of construction work; principally JCT (Joint Contracts Tribunal) contracts being intended for building works and ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers) contracts being intended for civil engineering works. Many terms in these contracts are similar but there are some clear distinctions, most notably in their allocation of risk.  For example, under JCT forms of contract the responsibility ...