14 BUSINESS AND TRAINING
Contracts : understanding each party ’ s respective rights and obligations ( Part 2 )
Contributed by
Uwe Putlitz
What are the rights and obligations involved when it comes to contracts ? Uwe Putlitz walks us through this in the second part of his examination of rights and obligations . Last month Uwe took a look at who may enter into contracts .
A contract may be terminated by rejection , revocation or death of one party , or by expiration of the stipulated time for completion of the works , or by consensus of the parties . No ‘ cooling-off ’ period applies to construction contracts compared to purchases in accordance with the Consumer Protection Act .
In South African Law , a construction contract does not have to be signed as in the purchase of property . An agreement signed by both parties avoids later legal arguments to determine the validity thereof .
The CA should make a reference copy for each of the parties and others ( project funder ) of all constituent documents ( with pages numbered 1 of 10 ) bound into a book ( without initialling each page ) – not spiral bound as pages can be added or removed for signature of the original set of documents and each numbered copy before the commencement of the works .
Note : Only FIDIC requires the parties to enter a contract within 28 days of the letter of appointment .
Uwe Putlitz is a registered professional Architect and Construction Project Manager , a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors ( RICS ) and is a visiting lecturer at the School of Construction Economics and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand . Having recently retired as the Chief Executive Officer of the Joint Building Contracts Committee ( JBCC ) he specialises in the avoidance of construction disputes by way of lectures , technical articles dealing with aspects of contract administration for various industry publications arising from the use of Standardform Contracts including the Federation Internationale des Ingenieurs-Conseils ( FIDIC ), the General Conditions of Contract ( GCC ), the JBCC or the New Engineering Contract ( NEC ) to find an acceptable settlement without resorting to legal processes , where possible . More info : info @ buildstrat . co . za
www . plumbingafrica . co . za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline February 2024 Volume 29 I Number 12