ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to make some of the key obligations clearer and give the student insight into the interrelation and operation of key terms and contractual practices. International contracts have a tradition of allowing the resident engineer greater powers in relation to the questioning of his own actions by the contractor. The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) depends on the architects occasional visits to site, an architect could expect to have a number of projects on at the same time and visit them in a fortnightly rotation with the occasional mystery visit. Building contracts have many provisions concerning money, and a considerable proportion of the contract is given over to this most important of considerations. The valuation process can involve additional processes such as a consideration of earned value and planned versus actual costs. Liquidated damages are a major area of difference between normal contracts and construction contracts.
