Research On The Contract Liability Of The Owner And The General Contractor In The Designated Subcontracting Contract

The term "designated subcontractor" originated in the United Kingdom.The description of designated subcontractors in the "Conditions of Contract for Civil Engineering Construction"(1999 version)edited by FIDIC is: " In large Projects,general contractors need to hire subcontractors with the consent of the owner or supervisor of the owner to subcontract certain tasks.For the relevant special professional parts or permanent equipment in the project,the owner usually wants to hire the company which have experience and expertise,and a professional company that is familiar and trusted to ensure the quality and the special requirements of the owner." In China,the mode of designated subcontracting is usually as follows: in the project bidding process,after the developer selects the general contractor and signs the general contract with the general contractor in accordance with relevant laws and regulations,for certain special project sub-contract projects,the owner need to choose the subcontractor and require the General Contractor to sign a subcontract with the subcontractor.Then,the general contractor shall conduct unified management in accordance with relevant technical quality,safety and other requirements of the General Contact and Subcontract.Current laws and regulations do not explicitly prohibit designated subcontracting,but prohibit designated subcontracting under certain circumstances.Judicial practice and theoretical research have not thoroughly studied the responsibility of designated subcontracts.This article focus on the basic theory of designated subcontracting,the contract responsibilities of the developer under the designated subcontract,and the contract responsibility of the general contractor under the designated subcontract.First of all,it mainly studies the responsibilities of the owner under the designated subcontract,including the determination of responsibility for the delay of the designated subcontracted construction period,the designated subcontracted project is different from the general subcontracted project.In case of fault,the owner shall also be responsible for the fault;and the responsibility of failing to re-appoint the subcontractor in time,if the developer delays in re-appointing the subcontractor,resulting in a delay in the construction period or quality defects,the owner shall bear the responsibility.The delay of the original subcontractor belongs to the risk of the general contractor and shall be borne by the general contractor.Secondly,research on the contractual responsibilities of the general contractor under the designated subcontracted project,including the theory of the reasonable objection right of the general contractor based on the FIDIC contract conditions,how to exercise the right of reasonable objection and the consequences of exercising the right of reasonable objection;and conducts research on the joint liability of the general contractor in the designated subcontracted project,and also studies the circumstance when the general contractor’s joint liability can be exempted.Finally,considering the particularity of designated subcontracted projects,this article suggests that the scope of designated subcontracted projects should be limited to the project which is highly professional,and the general contractor is unable to independently complete or complete difficultly;and if bidding,the owner should clearly specify the scope of the subcontracted project in the bidding documents and give the general contractor a right of reasonable objection,and establish the follow-up measures after the establishment of the right of objection;and it is recommended to reset the liability of the delay in construction period,payment,and project quality of the owner and the general contractor in the designated subcontracting project.