International Construction Law Review
LETTERS TO THE EDITORS
FIDIC CONDITIONS
Dear Sirs
Since the publication of their new suite of Standard Forms of Contract for major international construction works (respectively its Test Editions), FIDIC assisted by its advisers has set out several times to explain the inner logic underlying its four new books. Obviously, the standard form which has caused the biggest debate so far in the construction industry is the Silver Book, Conditions of Contract for EPC Turnkey Projects. The majority of contributions from the legal community in this journal have focused particularly on this new FIDIC document. In March 2000 EIC responded to the general discussion by setting out the contractor’s point of view in our EIC Contractor’s Guide to the Silver Book.
The document has been published in full in the October 2000 issue of this journal1
and has been widely recognised in the international construction industry.
In the July 2001 issue,2
the Chairman of the FIDIC Contracts Committee made some rather complimentary remarks on the EIC Guide
and, besides a few dutiful critical observations on a number of sub-clauses, referred to as “significant inaccuracies”, described the EIC Guide
in general terms as being a “useful checklist”. Nonetheless, FIDIC shows itself surprised that the EIC Guide
“gives the impression that the many sub-clauses commented upon are unique to the Silver Book. However, in respect to some forty-three Sub-Clauses, i.e. more than two-thirds of the total sub-clauses commented upon, comments appear equally applicable to the Plant and Design-Build Contract (P&DB), which has generally received the blessings of contractors.”
EIC do not wish to enter again into an argument over a specific wording in the context of a particular sub-clause, nor are we interested in exchanging polemics with FIDIC. We have a very clear idea about the Silver Book which we believe to be a very unhealthy, and also an unnecessary, document for the construction industry. We have expressed our critical view in our EIC Contractor’s Guide
and we are grateful to the editors that it has been published in this journal.
As far as our comments on the Silver Book Guide
also apply to the new Yellow Book, Conditions of Contract for Plant & Design-Build, FIDIC should not complain, as they intentionally chose to provide in the case of both standard forms, 19 common titles and much of the same wording, definitions and concepts, all based on the 1995 Orange Book, Conditions of Contract for Design-Build. Against this background, EIC fully shares the concerns of a variety of commentators3
who earlier put in
2 C Wade, “The Silver Book: The Reality” [2001] ICLR 497 at 520.
3 A Sandberg, “A Contractor’s view on FIDIC Conditions of EPC Turnkey Projects [1999] ICLR 47 at 49; A H Gaede Jr, “The Silver Book: An Unfortunate Shift from FIDIC’s Tradition of being Evenhanded and of Focusing on the Best Interests of the Project” [2000] ICLR 477 at 478.
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Letters to the Editors
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