Construction law is a branch of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

that deals with matters relating to building

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, and related fields. It is in essence an amalgam of

contract law A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

, commercial law, planning law,

employment law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

and

tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

. Construction law covers a wide range of legal issues including contract, negligence, bonds and bonding, guarantees and sureties,

lien A lien ( or ) is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. The owner of the property, who grants the lien, is referred to as the ''lienee'' and the per ...

s and other security interests, tendering, construction claims, and related consultancy contracts. Construction law affects many participants in the construction industry, including

financial institution Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial inst ...

s, surveyors,

quantity surveyor A quantity surveyor (QS) is a construction industry professional with expert knowledge on construction costs and contracts. Qualified professional quantity surveyors are known as Chartered Surveyors (Members and Fellows of RICS) in the UK and Ce ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s, builders,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

s, construction workers, and planners.

Specific practice areas

Construction law builds upon general legal principles and methodologies and incorporates the regulatory framework (including security of payment, planning, environmental and building regulations);

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

methodologies and selection (including traditional and alternative forms of contracting); subcontract issues;

causes of action A cause of action or right of action, in law, is a set of facts sufficient to justify suing to obtain money or property, or to justify the enforcement of a legal right against another party. The term also refers to the legal theory upon which a p ...

, and liability, arising in contract,

negligence Negligence (Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethical ruled care expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances. The area of tort law known as ''negligence'' involves harm caused by failing to act as a ...

and on other grounds; insurance and performance security; dispute resolution and avoidance. Construction law has evolved into a practice discipline in its own right, distinct from its traditional locations as a subpractice of

project finance Project finance is the long-term financing of infrastructure and industrial projects based upon the projected cash flows of the project rather than the balance sheets of its sponsors. Usually, a project financing structure involves a number of equi ...

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

or corporate law. There are often strong links between construction law and

energy law Energy laws govern the use and taxation of energy, both renewable and non-renewable. These laws are the primary authorities (such as caselaw, statutes, rules, regulations and edicts) related to energy. In contrast, energy policy refers to th ...

and oil and gas law. Some of the major areas a construction lawyer covers are: * Alternative Dispute Resolution ** Arbitration ** Dispute review boards (or other third party reviews) **Mediation **Structured negotiations *Bankruptcy issues for contractors, owners, suppliers, etc. *Bidding (tendering) disputes *

Building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fu ...

and other permits * Building information modeling *

Contract law A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

Change Order Change or Changing may refer to: Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period * Metamorphosis, or change, ...

s (Variations) **Construction claims ** Construction liens **Wage requirements ( Davis-Bacon Act of 1931, etc.) **Payment and

Prompt payment Prompt payment is a commercial discipline which requires businesses to: * agree fair and reasonable payment terms with their suppliers * ensure suppliers' invoices are approved and paid within agreed terms * encourage adoption of the same practices ...

s acts **Extensions of time **Drafting construction contracts **Industry-standard construction contracts **Negotiating construction contracts **Negotiating a termination claim, whether for convenience or for default *Defective design or construction *Delays and acceleration *Employment Law including Immigration *Environmental matters in construction *

False Claims Act The False Claims Act (FCA), also called the "Lincoln Law", is an American federal law that imposes liability on persons and companies (typically federal contractors) who defraud governmental programs. It is the federal government's primary litigat ...

(s) *Fire codes and regulations *Fulfilling regulations for non-discrimination or other social impact legislation *Insurances issues **Damage, liability **

Indemnification In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party (the ''indemnitor'') to compensate the loss incurred by another party (the ''indemnitee'') due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemni ...

** Surety Law (Payment and Performance Bonds) *Labor issues and strikes *Licensing construction professionals *

OSHA OSHA or Osha may refer to: Work * Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency of the United States that regulates workplace safety and health * Occupational Safety and Health Act (United States) of 1970, a federal law in the Un ...

, and other federal agencies *Overinspection *Project delivery systems, such as design-bid-build, Design-Build, Construction Manager (CM) at Risk or Agency CM *Provide defense to businesses facing administrative actions such as delisting (loss of bid listing) *Provide legal counsel *Public construction **Federal construction under FAR or other regulated procurements **State contracting procedures *State and local building codes *Sustainable construction, e.g. LEED *Litigation: trying construction cases in court *Violations, safety or other regulatory

Construction contracts

Although no special contract formalities are required, it is normal practice to use standard-form contracts such as, in the UK, the

Joint Contracts Tribunal The Joint Contracts Tribunal, also known as the JCT, produces standard forms of contract for construction, guidance notes and other standard documentation for use in the construction industry in the United Kingdom. From its establishment in 1931, JC ...

(JCT) form. In order to expedite dispute resolution, standard forms have often provided for arbitration by a "board of arbitration" or professional arbitrator, although many now offer a choice between arbitration and litigation. Construction law has been affected by the requirements in public contracts, which include surety bonds and other procedures. In private contracts, the requirements are negotiated between the parties. As of 1998, the principles of construction law were "well established". Remedies for breach of contract are the same as in the ordinary law, and include

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

, repudiation, rescission, and

specific performance Specific performance is an equitable remedy in the law of contract, whereby a court issues an order requiring a party to perform a specific act, such as to complete performance of the contract. It is typically available in the sale of land law, ...

Country-specific contract practice

Australia

The standard form construction contracts used in Australia include the Australian Building Industry Contracts (ABIC), the

Standards Australia Standards Australia is a standards organisation established in 1922 and is recognised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Australian government as the primary non-government standards development body in Australia. It is a com ...

contracts, the Australian Defence Contracting Suite of Tendering and Contracting (AUSDEFCON) and the GC21 government contracts form.

Canada

In Canada, the law requires money for work done to be paid in

trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another * Trust (bus ...

South Africa

The standard form construction contracts in use in South Africa include

FIDIC The International Federation of Consulting Engineers (commonly known as FIDIC, acronym for its French name ''Fédération Internationale Des Ingénieurs-Conseils'') is an international standards organization for construction technology and consul ...

, the

New Engineering Contract The New Engineering Contract (NEC), or NEC Engineering and Construction Contract, is a formalised system created by the UK Institution of Civil Engineers that guides the drafting of documents on civil engineering, construction and maintenance proj ...

(NEC), the General Conditions of Contract for Construction Works (GCC) and Joint Building Contracts Committee (JBCC) agreements.

United Kingdom

The JCT works on the most popular type of standard construction contracts and the latest suite of contracts from the JCT are the 2016 editions. The form of contract most favoured by public bodies is the NEC contract suite. In the UK, specific requirements relating to payments and adjudication provisions were introduced by the

Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its long title shows that it is a piece of omnibus legislation: :''An Act to make provision for grants and other assistance for housing pur ...

, and were subsequently amended in Part 8 of the

Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The legislation places a duty on local authorities to promote understanding of the functions and democratic arrangements of th ...

. These requirements are generally known as the Construction Act requirements. The requirements set out certain minimum provisions which must be included in any construction contract (as defined within the Act) and failure to comply with these requirements will cause the relevant provisions to be deleted and compliant provisions to be inserted in their place, which can lead to unexpected consequences for unsuspecting parties to a construction contract. Although some see construction law as another form of general contract law, it is a very specialised area and most people requiring advice on construction law in the UK would seek advice from construction law specialists.

United States

Standard form contracts promulgated by the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

have been the standard in the industry (insofar as building construction); the organization first published a form in 1888, and has over 200 forms, with revisions to selected forms happening typically every ten years.Klinger M. (2007)
A New Era in Standard Form Construction Documents: a Rivalry Between the Old Guard American Institute of Architects And An Upstart Consortium Led by the Associated General Contractors of America
Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold LLP. However, these forms have been criticized as unfair to contractors in favor of owners and architects, which led to the publication of ConsensusDocs standard contracts in September 2007. The ConsensusDocs Coalition includes 41 trade associations representing design professionals, owners, contractors, subcontractors and sureties in the design and construction industry. ConsensusDocs publishes more than 100 contract documents, addressing all methods of project delivery, and are written in the project's best interest versus one particular party. Engineering lead projects such as horizontal infrastructure use other standard form contracts such as those developed by the Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC). Recently several other organizations have developed contracts for use such as the CMAA (for projects using agency construction management) and the Design-Build Institute of America for projects using design-build.

Deviation

When a plan has been adopted for a building, and in the progress of the work a change is made from the original plan, the change is called a "deviation". When the contract is to build a house according to the original plan, and a deviation takes place, the contract shall be traced as far as possible, and the additions, if any have been made, shall be paid for according to the usual rate of charging.

Construction law organizations

United States

The Forum on Construction Law of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

established in 1973 is the largest organization of construction lawyers in the United States. The group includes law firms of every size, solo practitioners, in-house and government counsel, non-lawyers such as, construction professionals and the public sector representatives. Forum members include those of owners, developers, design professionals, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, construction managers, lenders, insurers and sureties.

United Kingdom and other

In the United Kingdom, there has been an active Society of Construction Law since 1983, and there is now a European Society of Construction Law, and Societies of Construction Law in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the UAE.

References

External links

*
American construction news and resources website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Construction Law

Specific practice areas

Construction contracts

Country-specific contract practice

Australia

Canada

South Africa

United Kingdom

United States

Deviation

Construction law organizations

United States

United Kingdom and other

See also

References

External links