Many of the more "traditional" forms of contract (JCT and ICE in particular) were perceived to encourage an adversarial approach. There have been cries for a departure from the "claims culture" which was seen as a consequence of the structure of many of the standard form building contracts in the market place.

Following the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, there have been a number of contracts which aimed to foster partnering and collaboration (NEC and PPC 2000). The JCT have now produced the Constructing Excellence Contract.

It has to be said that it is innovative and challenging, particularly in light of many of the other JCT forms of contract. One of the first things that strikes you is that the Conditions only run to 23 pages!

The contract begins by setting out the Overriding Principle which states that the parties are to work with each other on a collaborative basis. There is now judicial backing that, in a dispute, where there is evidence that parties have agreed to work on a collaborative basis and a party is seen to be in breach of this agreement then this may count against them.

A fundamental innovation is the treatment of risk. The parties are to work together at the outset to complete a Risk Allocation Schedule. This identifies events outside the parties' control and provides for how the risks are to be borne by the parties in relation to time and cost.

For example, if there were to be adverse weather causing a delay then the parties will have agreed upfront what percentage risk each of them would bear in relation to time and cost. This should be a big advantage for the better management of risk which is all too frequently the source of dispute.

The contract offers flexibility as to the standards of skill and care in design where options are provided. There are also options in relation to payment which can either be by way of a Contract Sum or a Target Cost with a pain/gain share.

In conclusion, provided that the parties to the contract "buy in" to the principles and have the expertise to sensibly agree the up front elements of the contract, such as the Risk Allocation Schedule, then this is a forward thinking and workable new contract for the industry.

It is likely to be taken up with more enthusiasm at the outset by the public sector but there is no reason why it cannot be adopted by private developers who wish to encourage a more collaborative procurement structure with their contractors.