A blog follower recently asked for advice on the correct interpretation of FIDIC Sub-Clause 20.1 (Contractor’s Claims) with regard to situations where the Contractor is not sure if he will submit a claim or not.
It’s not unusual for the Contractor to become aware of an event that may cause delay, the occurrence of additional Cost, or entitlement for additional payment. However, he may not be aware of the final effect of the event at the time that he becomes aware of the issue.
For example, perhaps a delay will end before it affects the Time for Completion or perhaps an instruction received will not constitute a variation which will change a lump sum contract or, possibly, the Contractor will just decide that the value of the claim will not justify the time and cost involved in preparing it.
The wording of the first part of this clause is as follows:
‘If the Contractor considers himself to be entitled to any extension of the Time for Completion and/or any additional payment, under any Clause of these Conditions or otherwise in connection with the Contract, the Contractor shall give notice to the Engineer, describing the event or circumstance giving rise to the claim. The notice shall be given as soon as practicable, and not later than 28 days after the Contractor became aware, or should have become aware, of the event or circumstance.’
Consequently, the Contractor is obliged to submit a notice within 28 days after he became aware of the event or circumstance. This may sound like a long time, but many contractors fail to meet this requirement. They may not have become aware of the event when they should have, or they may not have had enough time or resources to investigate the matter sufficiently enough to make a decision on whether a claim would be justified.
Paragraph 2 of Sub-Clause 20.1 goes on to explain the consequences of failing to give notice as follows:
‘If the Contractor fails to give notice of a claim within such period of 28 days, the Time for Completion shall not be extended, the Contractor shall not be entitled to additional payment, and the Employer shall be discharged from all liability in connection with the claim.’
So, if the Contractor does not submit a notice within 28 days, he loses all entitlement to make a claim. This may sound very harsh, but the notice provisions are included so that the Employer and Engineer are made aware of the Contractor’s intentions, so that mitigating actions or cost and time provisions may be made as soon as possible.
Failure then to submit a notice could be very costly for the Contractor. Some people say that time bars may not be applied in Civil Law jurisdictions and, in some cases, I agree with them. This is not a clear-cut matter; it takes a lot of time and effort to develop a case that justifies the Contract conditions are contrary to the law. It’s much less risky– and certainly more cost-effective– to just comply with the Contract.
My advice, therefore, is that Contractors should submit a notice of claim within 28 days, even if they are not sure at the time whether they will follow it up with a claim. It’s very easy to subsequently write to the Engineer to advise that having investigated the matter further, they will not be submitting a claim and the Contractor will not have made life difficult for himself if he does decide to pursue the matter.
This blog was written by ICCP Executive Officer and Fellow, Andy Hewitt.
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it is a clear statement as to how claim process can be be dealt with if the claimant not interested to pursue it further but mostly problem is other way round in which notice is not adequately worded and what information apart from simple notice should be included.I feel that a very brief description of the nature of claim is also necessary. Your review of this issue is also requested
Hi Liaqat,
Sorry, but I disagree. Yes, notices should contain the information required by the contract and possibly some other details to record the facts, but to include details of the claim will often invite a response before the particulars of the claim have been investigated, prepared and submitted. In my opinion the place to demonstrate entitlement is the claim itself and not the notices.
You may be interested in a new book on notices … https://www.amazon.co.uk/FIDIC-1999-Notices-Requirements-Composition/dp/B08D527TRF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BAKCXGDOECAP&keywords=andy+hewitt&qid=1600090613&sprefix=andy+hewitt%2Caps%2C282&sr=8-1
I have seen an employer reject the notices (proper notices identifying the issue at hand not the details of the claim). I have been ignoring these rejections as they are contractually meritless. Aside from issuing the particulars w/in 28 days, is there any other action required?
This is fairly typical of Engineers having a high-handed approach and simply not understanding their rights or the contractor’s obligations under the contract. Assuming that we are talking about FIDIC here, if a notice contains factually incorrect information, the Engineer would be entitled to record disagreement with the facts stated, but the Engineer has no right to reject a notice which has been sent in accordance with the contractor’s obligations under the contract. To stop this attitude, I would be inclined to reply to the Engineer’s rejection by quoting the clause which obliges the notice to be submitted and politely pointing out that the Engineer has no contractual authority to reject such a notice. Be sure to remember to copy the Employer in your notices and in any follow-up correspondence – this is also an obligation.
All the above is quite enlightening. Seems very simply but of great value indeed! Thanks for the invaluable information.
I’m glad you found it useful!