International Construction Law Review
TURNKEY CONTRACTING UNDER THE ICC MODEL CONTRACT FOR MAJOR PROJECTS: A MIDDLE EASTERN LAW PERSPECTIVE
MARWAN SAKR
LL B, Master of International and Comparative Laws, LL M, MCI Arb Attorney-at-Law, Partner, Hennaoui & Sakr (Beirut) Avocat à la Cour (Paris)
INTRODUCTION
This paper concerns turnkey contracting under the ICC Model Turnkey Contract for Major Projects. It looks at some aspects of the provisions of the Model Contract from the perspective of some major Arab jurisdictions where some of these provisions may not always be held to be enforceable, or, when due to some of the specificity of Arab legal systems, some legal provisions may override the contractual provisions over which the parties could have agreed. A special reference to the FIDIC rainbow of contracts shall be made where appropriate due to the wide use of these contracts in the Arab Middle East, and to the precedents in relation to situations that arose under FIDIC contracts provisions that are similar to some relevant provisions of the ICC Turnkey Model Contract.
This paper will address the following topics:
- 1. A brief overview of the sources and origins of Arab legal systems.
- 2. The time limitations provisions provided for in the Model Contract.
- 3. The issues related to limitation of liability in case of delay and liquidated damages.
- 4. Force majeure and hardship related issues.
1. A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE SOURCES AND ORIGINS OF ARAB LEGAL SYSTEMS
Arab countries follow in their laws of obligations and other commercial matters1 civil law based on the French tradition with an influence of Islamic Sharia, the importance of which varies from one jurisdiction to another.2
1 Family and Inheritance matters remain subject to the respective religious laws of each community.
2 See generally on the subject W M Ballantyne, Essays and Addresses on Arab Laws (Curzon, 2000), pp. 1 et seq.; Chibli Mallat, Introduction to Middle Eastern Law (Oxford, 2007), pp. 245 et seq.
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Turnkey and the ICC Major Projects Model Contract
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