Contracts for Construction and Engineering Projects provides unique and invaluable guidance on the role of contracts in construction and engineering projects. The work explores various aspects of the intersection of contracts and construction projects involving the work of engineers and other professionals engaged in construction, whether as project managers, designers, constructors, contract administrators, schedulers, claims consultants, forensic engineers or expert witnesses.
Compiling papers written and edited by the author, refined and expanded with additional chapters in this new edition, this book draws together a lifetime of lessons learned in these fields and covers the topics a practising professional might encounter in construction and engineering projects, developed in bite-sized chunks.
The chapters are divided into five key parts:
1. The engineer and the contract
2. The project and the contract
3. Avoidance and resolution of disputes
4. Forensic engineers and expert witnesses, and
5. International construction contracts.
The inclusion of numerous case studies to illustrate the importance of getting the contract right before it is entered into – and the consequences that may ensue if this is not done – makes this book essential reading for professionals practising in any area of design, construction, contract administration, preparation of claims or expert evidence, as well as construction lawyers who interact with construction professionals.
Foreword to Second Edition by Sir Rupert Jackson
Foreword to First Edition by Justice John Digby
1 Overview
Donald Charrett
Part 1 The engineer and the contract
2 The Evolution of the Role of the Engineer
Donald Charrett
3 Time, Cost and Quality - the Engineer’s Eternal Challenge
Donald Charrett
4 Risk and Construction Contracts
Donald Charrett
5 Managing Design Risk
Donald Charrett
6 Contracts for Design Services
Donald Charrett & Dan Washington
7 Design life or service life: What is the difference?
Donald Charrett
8 Fit for Purpose or Due Skill and Care?
Donald Charrett
9 Design & Construct Contracts and Final Design Cost Risk
Donald Charrett
10 The Duty of Care in Design – Can Engineers Rely on Codes of Practice?
Donald Charrett & Andrew Potts
Part 2 The project and the contract
11 Standard Form Contracts
Donald Charrett
12 The impact of COVID-19 on construction contracts
Donald Charrett
13 Challenges in Achieving Successful Megaprojects
Donald Charrett & Philip Loots
14 Sydney Opera House – Quality, Quality, Quality!
Donald Charrett
15 Managing Time, Cost and Quality - a Tale of Two Buildings
Donald Charrett
16 A Tale of Two Bridges: Issues Arising from Design and Construct Contracts
Donald Charrett
17 State of Tasmania v Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd
Donald Charrett
18 The Canterbury Earthquakes I
Donald Charrett
19 The Canterbury Earthquakes II
Donald Charrett
20 Construction Failures: Have We Learned the Lessons of History?
Donald Charrett
21 Lessons from failures – Quebec Bridge
Donald Charrett
22 Lessons from failures – West Gate Bridge
Donald Charrett
23 Is conventional insurance for construction projects fit for purpose?
Donald Charrett
Part 3 Avoidance and resolution of disputes
24 The avoidance of disputes by Contractors in design and construct contracts
Donald Charrett
25 Cost-effective Resolution of Construction Disputes
Donald Charrett
26 Dispute Boards and Construction Contracts
Donald Charrett
27 The commercial value of Dispute Boards under FIDIC contracts
Donald Charrett
28 FIDIC Conditions of Contract New Edition 2017 and Dispute Boards
Donald Charrett
29 Construction disputes after COVID-19 – jaw-jaw or war-war?
Donald Charrett
30 The “best” method of resolution of construction disputes – elusive or illusory?
Donald Charrett
Part 4 Forensic engineers and expert witnesses
31 The Engagement of Forensic Engineers
Donald Charrett & Andrew Potts
32 Guidelines for Experts
Donald Charrett
33 Getting the Most Out of Expert Witnesses
Donald Charrett
34 The Rules for Expert Evidence
Donald Charrett
Part 5 International construction contracts
35 Lex constructionis – or My Country’s Rules?
Donald Charrett
36 The Use of the UNIDROIT Principles in International Construction Contracts
Donald Charrett
37 Final Comments
Donald Charrett
Biography
Donald Charrett practices in construction law as an arbitrator, mediator, dispute board member and expert. Prior to becoming a lawyer, he worked as a consulting engineer for over 30 years. He has published widely on legal and engineering subjects, including as the author/joint author/editor of six books on construction law.
"This text provides helpful context for the roles that all professionals play on a project, and its strength is that it engages with a global audience in its use of case studies and other examples."
- Jaclyn Masters, Principal Lawyer Level Crossing Removal Project, Victoria
"The book achieves the aim of assisting engineers to understand better the role of contracts in their work and their necessary interaction with lawyers and by developing a greater awareness among lawyers of engineers' roles in the successful execution of construction projects."
- John Sharkey AM, Commercial Arbitrator
"This book is that rare thing in an engineer's or construction lawyer's bookshelf. While it is undoubtedly a useful legal reference in any dispute, the perspective and material it contains are also both interesting and enjoyable to read."
- Toby Shnookal QC, Arbitrator, Expert Determiner, Mediator, Facilitator, Adjudicator, Expert Determination Chambers
"This is a book that is not only informative but is also well sourced, comprehensive and consistently easy to read. The case studies are particularly interesting and provide a useful insight into the rights and wrongs on engineering and construction contracts."
- Steven Goldstein, Barrister, Arbitrator, Expert Determiner, Mediator, Dispute Board Member
