Reprints of key FIDIC contracts and new guide published

FIDIC has published reprints of its key contracts, which include a number of amendments and improvements, and also launched a new guide to their use.

The Official FIDIC International Contract Users’ Conference in London sees the launch of a new series of reprints of key FIDIC contract documents which will ensure that these industry-leading documents remain up to date and take account of latest industry developments. A new and comprehensive guide to their use has also been published.

With the full backing of the FIDIC contracts committee and the FIDIC board, the 2022 Reprints and the new FIDIC 2017 Contracts Guide have been published to take on board a number of comments and queries raised by users which have identified further amendments to improve the use of the contracts in practice and will keep these leading

industry documents ahead of the curve. The reprints include the following contracts: -

• FIDIC Construction Contract 2nd Edition (2017 Red Book, Reprinted 2022 with amendments).

FIDIC Plant and DesignBuild Contract 2nd Edition (2017 Yellow Book Reprinted 2022 with amendments).

FIDIC EPC/Turnkey Contract 2nd Edition (2017 Silver Book Reprinted 2022 with amendments).

The new FIDIC Contracts Guide 1st Edition 2022 (2017 Editions, as reprinted in 2022 with amendments) offers a comprehensive overview of FIDIC’s suite of contracts and for the first time outlines key guidance on the use of these industry leading documents. The production of the reprints and the guide were a colossal task and thanks is due to the leadership of the FIDIC contracts committee and all those involved in the production of these important documents.

A first set of amendments to the contracts was published as an errata document in December 2018, followed by a second set in the form of a memorandum published in June 2019. Since then, FIDIC has conducted a review of the text of the publications, to take on board a number of comments and queries raised by users and real-world experience and this has identified further amendments to improve them.

This third set of amendments has been published as a 2022 Reprint and will be effective as of 1 January 2023. They will also be available as three separate documents for free download from the FIDIC Bookshop on FIDIC’s website at fidic.org.

The 2022 Reprints incorporate combined amendments arising from the above three sets of amendments in the text of each publication. Previously these amendments were not incorporated in the text but only at the back of the document as erratas. To assist users even further, the list of the combined amendments is also included at the end of each 2022 reprint to set out the differences between the text of the 2022 reprint and the text of the original document published in 2017.

Additional minor typographical errors and layout irregularities are also corrected in the 2022 Reprints to improve the style of the publications. Also around the issue of BIM (building information management), to reflect recent developments in digital technology, advisory notes to users of FIDIC contracts where the project uses building information modelling (BIM) systems contained in the 2017 publication have also been updated in the reprints.

FIDIC recommends that all users of the above FIDIC conditions of contract should take note of the new amendments and improvements. Licence organisations and institutions are also advised to reflect on the amendments and take the necessary steps to update their documentation as needed.

In addition, translating organisations of the above FIDIC publications are requested to translate the above three set of amendments to supplement translations of the relevant publication. FIDIC is prepared to license, free of charge, translation of the 2022 Reprints to the above organisation to ensure combined amendments are incorporated in the text of translations.

In addition to the 2022 Reprints, FIDIC has also published a new Contracts Guide to assist users of its Rainbow Suite. The new guide offers a comprehensive overview of FIDIC’s suite of contracts and for the first time outlines key guidance on the use of these industry leading documents.

Commenting on the launch of the 2022 Reprints and the new FIDIC 2017 Contracts Guide, FIDIC Catherine Karakatsanis, FIDIC board member and liaison to the contracts committee, said: “The launch of these documents is a significant development for FIDIC. We really pride ourselves on providing the industry with the contract documentation it needs to work smarter and more efficiently and these newly launched publications are updated and amended to take into account feedback from the industry. “The new 2022 Reprints and the FIDIC 2017 Contracts Guide have benefited from the skilled input of the members of the FIDIC contracts committee, as well as feedback from other legal and contractual experts and users from across the contracts landscape. I trust and hope that they will be widely used across the global engineering, construction and infrastructure industry in the months and years ahead.”