The New Engineering Contract is now in its third edition. The NEC has become widely used and was the basis of the construction contract for Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow Airport.

The NEC is a major attempt to draft a simple and direct standard form contract from first principles without attempting to build upon the standards forms that already exist. The authors of the NEC gathered under the auspices of the ICE. The specification prepared in 1987 set out the aims of those drafting the NEC, namely to:

1. Achieve a higher degree of clarity when compared to other existing contracts;
2. Use simple commonly occurring language and avoid legal jargon;
3. Repeat identical phrases if possible;
4. Produce core conditions and exclude contracts specific data to avoid the need to change the core terms;
5. Precisely and clearly set out key duties and responsibilities;
6. Aim for clarity above fairness; and
7.  Avoid including details which can be more adequately covered in a technical specification.
   

In summary, three core principles might be said to be flexibility, simplicity and clarity, and a stimulus for good management. On the basis of these principles the authors drafted core claims that apply to all NEC contracts. The core clauses were then used as the basis for 6 main options (each with varying risk allocation and reflecting modern procurement practice).

One of the most noticeable features of NEC has been its short direct clauses. The simplicity of language is apparently to reduce the instance of disputes. A review by the drafting panel led to the launch, in June 2005, of NEC3.

The speaker will explain the core principles of the NEC and review the core clauses. Consideration is given to the use of NEC in practice.

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