JCT
The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) was formed by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1931 when the first JCT standard form of building contract was issued (although the forms were not referred to as ‘JCT’ until 1977). JCT became a Limited Company in 1998.
It now produces a range of standard forms of contract for the construction of buildings accompanied by guidance notes and other standard forms of documentation, such as:
- Consultant agreements.
- Sub-contracts.
- Sub-sub-contracts.
- Design agreements between an employer and a specialist designer.
- Forms of tender for main contractors, sub-contractors and sub-sub-contractors.
- Forms of contract for the supply of goods.
- Forms of bond.
- Collateral warranties.
The range of JCT construction contracts comprises:
- Standard Building Contract
- Intermediate Building Contract
- Minor Works Building Contract
- Major Project Construction Contract
- Design and Build Contract
- Management Building Contract
- Construction Management Contract
- JCT-CE Contract
- Measured Term Contract
- Prime Cost Building Contract
- Repair & Maintenance Contract
JCT has seven member organisations, each representing a different sector of the construction industry, and each of which nominates a director to the JCT Board:
- British Property Federation.
- Build UK Group Limited.
- Contractors Legal Grp Limited.
- Local Government Association.
- Royal Institute of British Architects.
- Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
- Scottish Building Contract Committee Limited.
The JCT Council comprises 47 representatives who form the company’s five ‘Colleges’. It is these colleges that produce and amend the forms of contract:
- Employers, Clients and Local Authorities (British Property Federation, Local Government Association).
- Consultants (Royal Institute of British Architects, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors).
- Contractors (Contractors Legal Grp Limited).
- Specialists and Sub-contractors (National Specialist Contractors Council).
- Scottish Building Industry (Scottish Building Contract Committee Limited).
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Appointing consultants.
- Articles of agreement.
- Building Information Modelling (BIM), Collaborative and Integrated Team Working.
- CLC urges inclusion of fluctuations provisions in contracts.
- Clear contracts during uncertain times.
- Collateral warranty.
- Construction contract.
- Core clause.
- CPC2013.
- FIDIC.
- Intermediate Building Contract.
- Key dates.
- Latham report.
- Levelling the playing field
- Minor works.
- Modifying clauses in standard forms of contract.
- Named specialist work.
- NEC3.
- Procurement route.
- Self build insurance.
- Standard Building Contract.
- Sub-contract.
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