Concerning construction work contract agreements
In regard to construction work contracts, even if the interested parties have coinciding intentions, many contracts are unclear or incomplete in the expression of these intentions and are insufficient with regard to the civil contract regulations concerning the standards of their interpretation. Therefore, it is not only easy for conflicts related to construction work to arise, but it is also easy for the contract terms to be set to the benefit of only one side due to one of the parties that are concluding the contract having more power in the negotiations. In other words, problems related to unilateral contracts can arise that can obstruct sound development of a construction business and the reasonableness of conduct of construction work.
Therefore, the Construction Industry Law sets forth in the law itself regulations (Clause 3) concerning the reasonableness of contracts and includes not only these kinds of general regulations but also standard contract agreements establishing the content of concrete rights and duties for the interested parties as determined by the Construction Industry Deliberations Committee and also recommends their use to interested parties (Article 34, Section 2).
Since its established in 1949, the Construction Industry Deliberations Committee has been making recommendations in regard to standard agreements, standard agreements for public works contracts, standard agreements for private construction work contracts (A and B), and standard agreements for construction work subcontractor contracts.
Of these, standard agreements for public works contracts apply to not only work ordered by governmental organizations, such as state organizations, regional public organizations, and public corporations, but also apply to work ordered by private businesses, such as electric power companies, gas companies, railroads, and telecommunications firms, for ordinary construction work. Standard agreements for public works are recommended by the Construction Industry Deliberations Committee to all state organizations, such as ministries, prefectures, ordinance-designated cities, government-related public corporations, and private businesses, such as electric power companies, gas companies, Japan Railways (JR), and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT). Recommendations are conveyed through regional public corporations, municipalities, and prefectures.
* Concerning the Construction Industry Deliberations Committee
The Construction Industry Deliberations Committee is made up of committee members including academics, users of construction works, and individuals who work in construction businesses. Furthermore, the committee includes equal numbers of members who are users of construction works and who work in construction businesses, and the number of these two groups of committee members is set as 2/3 of the overall number of members. The committee is neutral and impartial with regard to construction businesses and can establish subcommittees and expert committees as needed.
