Last edited 16 Oct 2020

Infrastructure conditions of contract

The ICE Conditions of Contract (CoC) were published by Thomas Telford on behalf of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), The Association of Consulting Engineers (ACE) and the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA). The first edition was published in 1945 and the seventh and final edition was published in 2001.

The key characteristics of the original CoC were:

Valuation by measurement.
Engineering responsibility for design.
Engineer as the impartial certifier and valuer.
Engineers decision as the first stage of dispute resolution.

In 2009 the ICE Council formally endorsed the New Engineering Contract (NEC), first published in 1993, and ICE transferred its part in the ownership of CoC to ACE and CECA.

In August 2011, ACE and CECA relaunched CoC as the Infrastructure Conditions of Contract (ICC) a standard suite of forms of contract largely based on CoC.

ACE and CECA argued that part of the industry still used the CoC and wished to continue to do so and that they were unfamiliar with the NEC. They suggested that the ICC ‘…continue to offer the same reassurance, clarity and reliability that clients and suppliers are used to’. It is also compliant with the payment provisions of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Contracts Act 2009 which amended the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (the Construction Act).

The ICC is intended for use on infrastructure projects, not building projects. The ICC suite of contracts includes a number of different versions:

Design and construction.
Target cost.
Ground investigation.
Term.
Archaeological investigation.
With quantities.
Measurement.
Minor works.
Partnering addendum.

A standing committee, the ICC Development Forum, which includes representatives from clients, consultants, contractors and other relevant sectors of the industry, will keep the contracts up to date.