In the 1990s, following the trends of the construction industry, significant changes were introduced in the ORIGINAL FIDIC contracts and the FIDIC Silver Book was published. The silver book is used for EPC/turnkey projects where a large part of the risk is attributed to the contractor. Planning is done by the contractor and payment is usually made on a lump sum basis. Today, international tenders are conducted in many countries according to the FIDIC specification, as the World Bank and other credit institutions require the implementation of the FIDIC specification for the work they finance. Since the 1970s, construction companies in Turkey have opted for FIDIC construction contracts when participating in international tenders. FIDIC (International Federation of Consulting Engineers) is an international professional organization composed of advisory chambers of engineers. Model contracts established by FIDIC on the basis of the organization`s years of experience are often used in international projects as they unify technical, operational and legal issues. Two of the best-known FIDIC contracts are the Red Book, in which the employer executes the design, and the Yellow Book, where the contractor executes the design. After FIDIC introduced new model contracts that offered parties more flexibility for different needs and released updated versions to spread risk between the parties in a more balanced way, the use of FIDIC contracts became much more widespread. Today, FIDIC contracts are used in both international and local projects.
Parties intending to use FIDIC contracts must first determine the type of contract that best suits their needs and project specifications. Therefore, parties should (i) consider the scope and complexity of the project; (ii) the party responsible for carrying out the project; (iii) sharing potential risks; (iv) how the contractor is paid and (v) how the project will be delivered. The most commonly used FIDIC model agreements are summarized below, with a particular focus on these criteria. Another form of FIDIC contract is the so-called guestbook. The first edition of the Gold Book was published in 2008 and is based on a typical form of design and construction contract where a period of operation and maintenance was added. The Gold Book covers a complex range of different services and is intended to continue beyond a period of 20 years if the parties intend to extend their cooperation for the duration of a project. Other lesser-known FIDIC contracts include the “Green Paper”, which is a short-form contract for relatively small projects of a repetitive nature or of short duration when the employer provides the design. According to FIDIC guidelines, $500,000 and 6 months are considered an appropriate capital and duration limit for projects that use Green Book forms. Today, the legal relations established on the international scene are developing rapidly and diversifying. It has become necessary to ensure consensus among parties belonging to different nations and legal systems in construction work that is often carried out. This has created the need to develop international model contracts. This type of contract, now called FIDIC, was co-prepared by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers and the International Federation of Building and Public Works and published in 1957.
The standard documents and contracts that have been used for many years have been developed and revised over time, in particular to take into account the evolution of technology and needs over the past decade. Next to the Red Book; the Yellow Paper for construction and design contracts, the Silver Book for turnkey projects where the final cost and security of time are important to the employer, the Green Paper for contracts with a tender price not exceeding $500,000, the White Paper on Employer and Consulting Services Contracts and the Guestbook have been developed over a long period of time life for investment projects with high capital requirements. In Turkey, there are large technical and financial projects abroad that are carried out with FIDIC contracts. These can be listed as Marmaray project, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Istanbul-Ankara highway project. In addition, some institutions such as the Undersecretariat of the Treasury – Central Department of Finance and Contracts; Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology – Competitive Sectors Program; Ministry of Environment and Urbanization – EU Department of Investment; The operational program of the Ministry of Transport is based on FIDIC contracts in their construction projects. All FIDIC contracts consist of two parts, which consist of general conditions and special conditions. The terms and conditions govern issues such as employer liability and engineer liability, which apply to all construction contracts. On the other hand, the special conditions include variable conditions such as geological and socio-economic conditions at the workplace, the limits of the employer`s willingness to intervene in the workplace and the provision of all or part of the work. The point that should be emphasized is that fidic`s general and specific conditions advise those who will be involved in construction contracts, and they have no binding legal value.
Therefore, parties who draw up a construction contract on the basis of FIDIC contracts do not have to accept the general terms and conditions as they are. However, since the FIDIC specifications govern the provisions governing the construction contract, which is a private law contract, it may be possible to amend the contract and specifications at any stage of the work, provided that the parties agree to it. The FIDIC Red, Yellow and Silver books were published together in September 1999 in the FIDIC Rainbow Suite. FIDIC Rainbow Suite has been translated into a number of different languages to avoid the problems of unofficial and inaccurate translations. The languages into which the FIDIC Rainbow Suite has been translated include French, Chinese, Arabic, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese. [1] See FIDIC`s website, available at: fidic.org/about-fidic The FIDIC white paper or the model client/consultant service agreement is another important and well-known part of the FIDIC suite. The most recent version was released in 2017 and is now one of the most widely used forms of professional services contracts internationally. The second edition of the sub-consultation agreement accompanying the White Paper has also been published. There are different types of FIDIC contracts, such as the Red Book, the Yellow Book, the Silver Book and the Green Paper, to solve the problems. B e.g.
who bears the risk during the construction process, who prepares the design and who takes care of the contract management, etc. The main differences between books arise in determining the obligations of the employer and the entrepreneur. The Red Book, which is most commonly used in construction works in Turkey, was updated by FIDIC in 1999. The Red Book establishes the basic principles of tender and construction contracts and provides that the work project is prepared by the employer and that the contractor has the construction work carried out. FIDIC stands for International Federation of Consulting Engineers, to which about 102 countries belong. FIDIC contract forms have conditions that are suitable for use in all types of construction, electrical, mechanical and household contracts. These contracts include a number of conditions suitable for the supply of electrical and/or mechanical equipment, as well as for the design and construction of buildings or civil engineering services. Under this Agreement, the Contractor designs and supplies the equipment and other work, which may include any combination of construction, mechanical, electrical and/or construction work, in accordance with the employer`s requirements.
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