International Construction Law Review
JCT STANDARD FORMS OF BUILDING CONTRACT, 2005–2007 EDITIONS: PART 2—CONSTRUCTING EXCELLENCE
SARAH LUPTON1
MA, DipArch, LLM, RIBA, FCIArb
Introduction
Since 2005 the JCT has republished the majority of its suite of standard form contracts in new editions, and added several entirely new forms,2
of which “Constructing Excellence”3
(CE) is the latest. It follows the Major Project Construction Contract (MP), originally published in 2003 as the Major Project Form, and two Framework Agreements (FAs), one binding and one non-binding.
Within the JCT suite of forms, CE fills a gap in that it is the first JCT contract to be based on a partnering ethos. The FAs and the earlier nonbinding Partnering Charter4
are ancillary documents to be used in conjunction with other forms, whereas CE is self-contained. Although new in the context of the JCT, CE is based on the BE Collaborative Contract (BCC),5
which was published by “Collaboration in the Built Environment”, or BE as it was commonly known. CE was developed initially with BE, then with Constructing Excellence after BE joined that organisation. There are some differences to BCC, including a number of amendments and new provisions, but more significantly the JCT has also published an optional Project Team Agreement (PTA), which may be used in conjunction with the form.
CE is a bilateral contract, intended for “project partnering”, i.e., for a single project, rather than for “strategic partnering” (a series of projects would require an additional partnering charter or framework agreement). It is a very flexible form, offering a range of options. It may be used between any pair of contracting parties within the procurement framework, for
1 Sarah Lupton is a partner in Lupton Stellakis, architects, and Reader in Professional Studies at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University. She is author of a series of books on the JCT standard forms of contract and joint author of the fourth edition of Which Contract?
, all published by RIBA Publishing.
2 See the earlier article “JCT Standard Forms of Building Contract, 2005 Editions: Part 1” [2006] ICLR 90 and Appendix 1, below, p. 481, for a summary.
3 JCT Constructing Excellence Contract 2006. The principal authors of CE, PTA and the CE Guide are solicitors Martin How and Giles Dixon.
4 Note that the JCT non-binding partnering charter can now be downloaded free (along with many other useful documents) from http://www.jctcontracts.com/JCT/freepub.jsp
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