The JCT Major Project Form 2003: The Commercial Realities

Neil F Jones

March 2004

A paper based on a talk given to a meeting of the Society of Construction Law in Birmingham on 12th February 2004.

The paper considers the nature of the Joint Contracts Tribunal Major Project Form, published in June 2003, in the light of the commercial realities lying behind many of today's construction projects - in which significantly more risk is allocated to the contractor than occurs under other standard JCT forms of contract. The paper goes on to consider a number of possible drafting difficulties to be found in the contract.

Introduction - Commercial realities - eduction in length - Who is this contract for? - Some significant features - Some drafting issues - Penalties? - The contractor's non-negligent design discovered before practical completion - Ground Conditions: amendment to equirement or Proposals - The binding effect of the final payment advice: effect on latent defects.

Neil F Jones is a solicitor and national head of construction with Pinsents, solicitors, in Birmingham, Leeds, London and Manchester; he is also chairman of the JCT's drafting sub-committee, and author of The JCT Major Project Form , Blackwell Publishing, January 2004.

Text 13 pages.

PDF file size: 76k