Nael G. Bunni

In September 1999, FIDIC introduced its new Suite of Contracts, which included a “new” Red, Yellow, Silver and Green forms of contract. The “new” Red Book was intended to replace the 1992 fourth edition of the Red Book, with the ambition that its use would cease with time. This ambition has not materialised and is unlikely to do so in the future.

Despite the importance of the 1999 Forms, there has been very little published on the new concepts adopted in them and how they interact with the previous forms. This important work considers these aspects together with the many developments affecting the fourth edition of the Red Book that have taken place since 1997, when the second edition of this book was published, and relates them to key contracting issues. It is written by a chartered engineer, conciliator and international arbitrator with wide experience in the use of the FIDIC Forms and in the various dispute resolution mechanisms specified in them.

Important features of this book include:

· background and concepts of the various forms of contract;

· a detailed comparison of the wording of the1999 three main forms, which although similar in nature; it nevertheless significantly differs in certain areas where the three forms diverge due to their intended purpose;

· analysis of the rights and obligations of the parties involved in the contract and the allocation of risks concerned;

· a range of ‘decision tree’ charts, analysing the main features of the 1992 Red Book, including risks, indemnities and insurances, claims and counterclaims, variations, procedure for claims, programme and delay, suspension, payments and certificates, dispute resolution mechanisms, and dispute boards;

· a much enlarged discussion of the meaning of “claim” and “dispute” and the types of claim with a discussion of the Notice provision in the 1999 forms of contract for the submittal of claims by a contractor and by an employer;

· the FIDIC scheme of indemnities and insurance requirements; and the methods of dispute resolution provided by the various forms of contract; and

· five new chapters in this third edition, the first four chapters deal with each of the 1999 forms and the fifth chapter is confined to the topic of Dispute Boards.