ABSTRACT
The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) Design and Build Contract (DB16) is intended for use on building projects where ‘the Employer has defined his requirements and where the Contractor is not only to carry out the works, but also to complete the design for them in accordance with those requirements’. The key differences between DB16 and traditional forms published by the JCT are, first, that the employer provides no further information to the contractor after the contract is entered into and, second, that no individual is appointed to exercise the functions of architect or contract administrator. The JCT publishes standard forms of contract for use with domestic sub-contractors, and the contractor is required to sub-let on the terms where appropriate. For contracts where the contractor’s design responsibility is restricted to discrete parts of the works, use of SBC16, with its provisions for a contractor’s designed portion, should be considered.
