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Contract Publishers

• Read more about Building Contracts and Contract Procurement

Association of Consultant Architects (ACA)

• The first ACA contract was published in 1982 as a reaction to the perceived failings of the then-current suite of JCT contracts, although there was some resistance from the contracting side of the industry as the initiative was architect-led. Although the ACA forms had some enthusiastic supporters in the early days, the ACA has lost out to the NEC ECC as the main alternative to the JCT/SBC forms in the last ten years.
• More information is available from the ACA website at [www.acarchitects.co.uk].

Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT)

• The Joint Contracts Tribunal was founded in 1931 and is the oldest of the UK contract publishers. Although associated for many years with contracts for traditional procurement, the scope of the JCT's publications is now much wider and covers virtually all contract types and sizes.
• There may be comparatively little legal case law on some of the more recently-added contract forms but they have all been drafted with wide cross-industry support. This in itself is a strong argument for their use and we expect to see an increased use of JCT forms, albeit modified in some cases, and decreased use of bespoke forms, in the future.
• A simple flow chart guide to selecting the most appropriate JCT form of contract is attached to this page.
• More information is available from the JCT website at [www.jctcontracts.com].

New Engineering Contract (NEC)

• The NEC is the newest of the contract publishers (the first editions of their contracts were published in 1993) and the contracts are written in the spirit of co-operation encouraged by the Latham Report. To quote the NEC website - "The NEC is a modern day family of standard contracts that truly embraces the concept of partnership and encourages designers, contractors and project managers to work together to achieve the client's objectives."
• The contracts are now known as the NEC Engineering and Construction Contract (NEC ECC).
• There was a great deal of initial resistance to the NEC contracts from the legal profession and the take-up has been much slower than the exponents of the NEC anticipated.
• There is also very little NEC case law although whether this is due to the scope for dispute resolution inherent in the contract, or due to the limited use of the contract to date, is the subject of some debate.
• More information is available from the NEC website at [www.neccontract.com].

Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI)

• The OPSI has taken over the publication of the GC/Works suite of contract forms from the Stationery Office. They are used exclusively for Government contracts and are broadly similar to the JCT/SBCC contracts but with significant variations appropriate to their intended use.
• More information about the contract types is available from the DTi website at [www.dti.gov.uk/../..].
• More information about the contract forms is available from the OPSI website at [www.opsi.gov.uk].

Scottish Building Contract Committee (SBCC)

• The SBCC is the Scottish equivalent of the JCT with a range of contract forms broadly similar to the JCT although they seem to have no direct equivalent of the JCT Intermediate Form at present.
• Scottish law has significant differences from English law and those familiar with one, but unfamiliar with the other, must take appropriate advice.
• More information is available from the SBCC website at [www.sbcconline.com].

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