International Construction Law Review
FIDIC’S GREEN BOOK—CLAUSES 6, 13 AND 14: RISK, RESPONSIBILITY, LIABILITY, INDEMNITY, INSURANCE AND FORCE MAJEURE
NAEL G BUNNI
BSc, MSc, PhD, CEng, FICE, FIEI, FIStructE, FCIArb, FIAE, MConsEI *
INTRODUCTION
Having attempted to highlight the shortcomings and problems behind clauses 17 to 19 of the three major forms of FIDIC’s 1999 suite of contracts and to outline what, in my view, should have been the text of these three clauses,1
I was invited to give my views on the equivalent clauses in FIDIC’s fourth form of that suite, the new Green Book. The Green Book, as stated in its Foreword, is intended to be used as a form of contract for engineering and building work of fairly simple or repetitive work of short duration with relatively small capital value,2
but it may be suitable, subject to the type of work and circumstances, for contracts of greater value. The objective of the Green Book is for the contract to express in clear and simple terms traditional procurement concepts.3
Furthermore, the form is drafted in a flexible format which includes all essential commercial provisions and a variety of administrative arrangements. Thus, it is envisaged that the design may be provided by the employer, by others on his behalf, or by the contractor in a design/build format. In the latter situation, tenderers would be required to submit a design with their tenders which would be governed by the provisions of clause 5 of the Conditions “Design by Contractor”. It is also envisaged that in the Green Book there would be no traditional “Engineer” or “Employer’s Representative” in the formal sense used by FIDIC in most of its other forms of contract. Instead, the employer takes over the functions usually performed by the Engineer or the Employer’s Representative. However, the employer may appoint an independent engineer to act impartially by modifying clause 3 of the Conditions “Employer’s Representative”.
These various options are explained at the end of the Green Book in a
* Chartered Engineer, Conciliator and Registered Chartered Arbitrator. Visiting Professor in Construction Law and Contract Administration at Trinity College, Dublin.
1 Nael G Bunni, “FIDIC’s New Suite of Contracts—Clauses 17 to 19, Risk, Responsibility, Liability, Indemnity, Insurance and Force Majeure
” [2001] ICLR 523.
2 It is suggested that the intended capital value is around US$0.5 million.
3 See the first line of the Notes for Guidance, which forms the last section of the Green Book.
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FIDIC’s Green Book—Clauses 6, 13 and 14
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