FIDIC Amendments and The Golden Principles

We have all seen it. We receive what we assume is a FIDIC form of contract. But when we examine its contents or the Particular Conditions, we find it has been subject to amendments and changed considerably. FIDIC amendments we often see include:

  • Clauses struck out, usually those that give the contractor rights and remedies.
  • New clauses appear which are often punitive toward the contractor.
  • The remeasurable Red Book changes to a lump-sum contract.
  • Time-frames may have been reduced for the Contractor’s actions and extended. Alternatively, time-frames vanish altogether for the Engineer and Employer’s obligations.

Added to this, the changes and amendments are often poorly drafted and the final version contains ambiguities and conflicts.

So what we end up with is not what FIDIC intended. In short, it does not do what it says on the tin.

Employers and Engineer’s make these changes in an attempt toRead more

by Andy Hewitt

Definition of a Good Claim According to Roger Knowles

I have recently finished reading Roger Knowles’ autobiography, Somebody Up There Likes Us. I found this to be a thoroughly good read that covers Roger’s upbringing in the war years, to the time that his company, J R Knowles, was turning over £30M.Read more

by Andy Hewitt

Claims Class Principal Launches New Book on FIDIC Contracts

Claims Class Principal, Andy Hewitt, has just launched his second book entitled The FIDIC Contracts: Obligations of the Parties.Read more

by Nina Hewitt

Construction Claims & Responses is an International Success!

I just heard from my publisher that Construction Claims & Responses has sold almost 1,200 copies in the 20 months since publication. We never expected this to be a major seller and the first print run was only 1,000 copies, so we are very pleased with this. This also goes to show that there is a distinct lack of publications on the market that deal with the subject matter. Hopefully my next book will be just as well received!

by Andy Hewitt

Construction Claims & Responses Gets More Positive Feedback

It's always a pleasure to hear positive feedback and comments about my book from friends and colleagues but it's particularly nice to hear positive things from people I've never even met who, perhaps don't know me or my reputation in the industry, and are judging me based on the contents of my book. Someone recently contacted me from the UK and had the following to say:Read more

by Andy Hewitt

The Obligations of the Parties Under the FIDIC Forms of Contract

Did you know that the FIDIC Red book contains 74 separate obligations of the Employer, 211 of the Contractor and 85 of the Engineer? Well, to be honest, neither did I until I just counted them in the draft of my latest book!Read more

by Andy Hewitt

Roger Knowles says that in excess of half the claims prepared, fail to follow simple procedures to make them effective.

Roger was commenting on my book Construction Claims & Reponses: effective writing and presentation, when he said...Read more

by Andy Hewitt