Introduction

8.1 Over recent years, there has been a growing recognition that collaborative contracts can help deliver better outcomes, and this trend is reflected in the publication and use of collaborative contracts such as the New Engineering Contract (NEC), the Project Partnering Contract (PPC2000) and the JCT’s Constructing Excellence contract as well as the more recent alliancing forms of contract such as FAC-1 and the NEC Alliance Contract. From a legal perspective, such contracts often set out and rely on obligations akin to good faith, even where the term good faith is not expressly used. In that context, the courts have begun to accept that some contracts, referred to as ‘relational’ contracts, are a type of contract where it may be appropriate to imply a good faith obligation where one is not already included.