Contractor's Claims Under FIDIC (1999) Contract Conditions

Nowadays the international project market is developing steadily, while Chinese contractors'influence gradually grows. However, the study on the FIDIC contract which is one of the international project standard contracts and which is widely used is just starting. The situation is not enough in the study on the core clauses of FIDIC contract conditions- the clauses on the contractor's claims for compensation. This article reckons that the claims for compensation are just compensative and rely heavily on the prescription and written evidences. The contractors may assert their claims for compensation due to the changes of the project, the employers breaching contract, factors of risk, or inappropriate terms in the contracts. There are three stepwise stages of the procedure of the dispute solution, which includes the decision of engineers, the DAB and the arbitration. Chinese contractors shall take actions to protect their benefits. These actions includes the careful analysis on the claims and the strict managements of contracts, the well understanding of the contracts, especially the terms that exculpatory clause of the employers, then following of the procedure and catching the very chance to bring about claims.