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Obligations regarding statutory approvals
Contractors have an obligation under ABIC contracts to comply with government and other authorities' requirements. This obligation is reflected in the ABIC suite of contracts through a logical sequence of steps on which the contracts are based, rather than through a specific clause.
Under the ABIC suite of contracts the contractor is obliged to comply with any relevant legislation, obtain any necessary statutory approvals and comply with any instruction issued by the architect. In addition, there must be prompt disclosure of documents relating to the work, including any notice or order received from statutory authorities or service providers during the course of the works. Such an order or notice may require the architect to issue an instruction to the contractor, which may result in a claim for a variation to the contract.
The architect should endeavour to ensure compliance with all statutory requirements to avoid the need for variations, although they can sometimes be difficult to anticipate, eg conditions of planning approval.
It is prudent, if time and other circumstances permit, to obtain approvals from authorities before the contract is signed, so that any conditions of approval can be satisfied by prior adjustment to the documents and drawings.
However, even if approvals are obtained before signing of the contract, under the standard forms of contract the contractor's responsibility for compliance with the obligations is in no way diminished as, upon signing of the contract, the contractor assumes those obligations. Of course, this requires that full information be given to the contractor about applications made and approvals granted.
Where prior to the calling of tenders the owner has paid any fees in respect of applications for approvals, or is in receipt of approvals, then these should be clearly stated in the tender documents so that tenderers can allow accordingly. In so doing, care should be taken that the contractor is not inadvertently released from obligations in respect of authorities.
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