This book, about international contracting and contract management, is written from the angle of the contractor and discussed from an international perspective. It comments on real-life cases, taken from various kinds of projects: infrastructural works (roads, bridges, tunnels, rail roads), wind- and sunfarms, oil and gas installations, such as platforms, pipe lines, power generating works, and large buildings. The book is structured around the contracting cycle. Chapters include dealing with the role of the contractor in international contracting, the tender process, landing and negotiating the contract, types of contract, problems that may occur during project execution, project delivery, and handling guarantee claims. Written primarily for business practitioners operating in the international contracting industry, the title assumes that the reader will have a basic understanding and knowledge of theories related to project management, construction engineering, business law and economics. Though not an academic book, due to its unique blend of practitioners' insight and academic theory, it can be taught on Masters courses. As most engineers are going to deal with contracts, this book is specifically recommended for engineering programs at both graduate and postgraduate levels. Lawyers will find the book useful in helping them to understand the business context in which their customers and/or colleagues work

ch. 21. Force majeure. 21.1. Case - The loose pontoons. 21.2. What is force majeure in international contracting? 21.3. Some definitions from standard contracts. 21.4. Force majeure in the Netherlands' law. 21.5. Force majeure in English common law. 21.6. Consequences of force majeure. 21.7. The Hurricane Protocol. 21.8. Conclusions -- ch. 22. Bribery. 22.1. Case - The happy man. 22.2. Bribery and corruption. 22.3. Analyzing the small bribe. 22.4. The worldwide war against corruption. 22.5. The UK Bribery Act 2010. 22.6. Anti-corruption legislation in the Netherlands compared with the UK. 22.7. Diverse legislation and anti-corruption committees. 22.8. Business reality. 22.9. How to operate in a faraway country. 22.10. Conclusions -- ch. 23. Dispute resolution mechanisms. 23.1. Case - A different time schedule. 23.2. What to do when you are summoned to court. 23.3. Going to court yourself. 23.4. Some dispute resolution clauses in standard contracts. 23.5. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). 23.6. Conclusions -- ch. 24. Different legal systems. 24.1. Case - Exact to specification, but not fit for purpose. 24.2. English terminology and international construction contracts. 24.3. The human need for rules. 24.4. Families of legal systems. 24.5. The Roman civil law system. 24.6. Codification of laws on the continent - law review in selected countries. 24.7. Common law - the English legal system. 24.8. A short comparison between common law and continental law. 24.9. Various other families of legal systems. 24.10. Conclusions -- ch. 25. Cultural differences and contract management. 25.1. Case - Two cultures meet. 25.2. Introduction. 25.3. Cultural differences are all around us. 25.4. Defining culture. 25.5. Differences of all kinds. 25.6. Culture - What is behind attitude and behavior? 25.7. Characteristics of cultures and nations. 25.8. Evaluating cultural aspects according to Hofstede. 25.9. The practical use of cultural elements. 25.10. Changing patterns. 25.11. Legal reflections on cultural beliefs and assumptions. 25.12. Coming to terms with different cultural values. 25.13. Summary, recommendations and gentle suggestions.

ch. 16. Consequential losses. 16.1. Case - The broken mill shaft and the remover. 16.2. Liability for consequential losses and contract agreements. 16.3. Excluding consequential losses in construction contracts. 16.4. Considerations of direct versus consequential under English law. 16.5. Economical losses. 16.6. "Consequential" losses under the law of the Netherlands. 16.7. Legal systems other than English law and the law of the Netherlands. 16.8. Drafting clauses on limitation of liability. 16.9. Conclusions -- ch. 17. Intellectual property. 17.1. Case - Inability to perform scope of work due to patent protection. 17.2. What is a patent? 17.3. Intellectual property and tort. 17.4. Patent and patent holder. 17.5. Architect's copyright. 17.6. Infringement and enforcement. 17.7. Confidential information and intellectual property in contracting. 17.8. Conclusions -- ch. 18. Damage and causality. 18.1. Case - Malfunctioning struts. 18.2. Damages under contracts. 18.3. Causes of damages and losses. 18.4. A theory of causality in business law. 18.5. Conclusions -- ch. 19. Knock-for-knock arrangements. 19.1. Case - The oil platform’s broken anchor chain. 19.2. Liability for damages in standard contracts. 19.3. The offshore industry - deviating stipulation. 19.4. Example from standard non-construction contract. 19.5. Himalaya clause. 19.6. The purpose of the knock-for-knock principle. 19.7. The unseaworthy tug boat and the gross negligence. 19.8. The Piper Alpha. 19.9. Further cases of knock-for-knock. 19.10. A bridge too far. 19.11. Negligence, gross negligence and willful misconduct. 19.12. Negligence in legal systems other than common law. 19.13. Preparing a tender with the knock-for-knock.principle. 19.14. Conclusions -- ch. 20. Disasters, damage and public investigations. 20.1. Case - The collapsed roofs in the Netherlands. 20.2. Disasters and public investigations. 20.3. Safety built into construction works - public rules and regulations. 20.4. Learning from damages and disasters. 20.5. Complexity of many simultaneous causes. 20.6. The Twin Towers in New York. 20.7. The legal importance of distinguishing different causes. 20.8. Holding the offender accountable in civil law and public law. 20.9. Conclusions.

pt. I. International contracting: defining the playing field. ch. 1. International contracting: how a project can turn into a nightmare. 1.1. Case - An uneasy event. 1.2. The BP oil spill: what happened? 1.3. The test. 1.4. The first investigations. 1.5. The blame game. 1.6. Kinds of damages caused by the disaster and claims. 1.7. Court proceedings. 1.8. Further investigations and reports. 1.9. What went wrong? - The causes and proposed reforms. 1.10. Violation of laws, regulations, procedures and policies. 1.11. Sharpening regulations. 1.12. Causality and risks. 1.13. Conclusions -- ch. 2. The role of contracting in international contracting. 2.1. Case - What is reasonable? 2.2. Changing relationships in international contracting. 2.3. Contract management and contracts. 2.4. The role of project managers and contract managers. 2.5. Conclusions -- ch. 3. The client. 3.1. Case - No discrimination. 3.2. Private sector. 3.3. Public sector. 3.4. Public-private partnerships. 3.5. Working with clients: specific issues. 3.6. Conclusions -- ch. 4. Contract management: definitions, concepts and perspectives. 4.1. Case - The Amsterdam underground metro line. 4.2. Contract management: concepts and definitions. 4.3. Problems in contract management. 4.4. Perspectives on contract management. 4.5. Attitudes towards contracting. 4.6. The lifecycle of a contract. 4.7. Conclusions -- pt. II. The contracting cycle. ch. 5. From tender to final payment. 5.1. Case - The offer and the main subcontractor. 5.2. The contracting lifecycle. 5.3. Invitation to tender: the tender process. 5.4. Landing the contract: the Letter of Intent (LOI). 5.5. Contract negotiations and closure. 5.6. Subcontracting and project execution. 5.7. Testing, delivery and payment. 5.8. Claims and dispute resolution. 5.9. Summary -- ch. 6. European tendering. 6.1. Case - Objectives. 6.2. Principles and scope of the European procurement laws and directives. 6.3. European procurement procedures. 6.4. Implications for contractors. 6.5. Summary and conclusions -- ch. 7. Downstream contracting: managing suppliers and subcontractors. 7.1. Case - The subcontracted steel piles. 7.2. Downstream contracting: definitions. 7.3. Purchasing process and procedures. 7.4. Portfolio management and supplier segmentation. 7.5. Specific operational and legal problems related to procurement and subcontracting. 7.6. Summary -- ch. 8. Contract models in international contracting. 8.1. Case - The missing rescue boat. 8.2. Pricing in contracts. 8.3. Payment terms. 8.4. Activities and risk allocation. 8.5. Standard contracts. 8.6. Contract models overview. 8.7. How standard contracts are used. 8.8. Collaborative contract models. 8.9. Summary.

pt. III. Project and risk management. ch. 9. Risk management in projects. 9.1. Case - Contractor withdraws from negotiations due to risk exposure. 9.2. The many faces of risk. 9.3. Definition of risk. 9.4. Risk management and contract type. 9.5. Risk policy of contractors. 9.6. Identification of risks. 9.7. Categorization of risks. 9.8. Managing risks. 9.9. Contract cycle and risk management. 9.10. Risk appetite - risk pressure - risk exposure. 9.11. Strategic risks. 9.12. Conclusions and recommendations -- ch. 10. Managing variations in contracts. 10.1. Case 1 - Permission for a technical variation. 10.2. Case 2 - Instructions versus variations. 10.3. Definitions of variations. 10.4. Events resulting in variations. 10.5. How to handle variations. 10.6. Refused variations and disagreements. 10.7. Variations that usually do not change contracts. 10.8. Variations that changed contracts. 10.9. Variations that change the typology of the contract. 10.10. Conclusions -- pt. IV. Legal issues in international contracting. ch. 11. Letter of intent and memorandum of understanding. 11.1. Case - The missing reports and the missing permits. 11.2. Letter of Intent - definition. 11.3. Is a Letter of Intent legally binding? 11.4. Letter of Intent - validity and risk. 11.5. Memorandum of Understanding - definition and objectives. 11.6. Differences and similarities between LOI and MOU. 11.7. Letter of authorization and other letters. 11.8. Conclusions -- ch. 12. Signing the contract - pitfalls. 12.1. Case - Post-tender additional work. 12.2. Inaccurate technical negotiations and discussions. 12.3. The objective of the four corner contract. 12.4. Priority of documents. 12.5. Conclusion - A few days of painstaking work -- ch. 13. Liability versus responsibility. 13.1. Case - A loss-making project and its malfunctioning project manager. 13.2. The project manager's labor contract. 13.3. The contractor's construction contract. 13.4. Legal liabilities after unlawful actions. 13.5. Indemnities. 13.6. Non-contractual damages. 13.7. Direct versus indirect or consequential losses. 13.8. Damage to contractual parties. 13.9. Negligence. 13.10. Insurances. 13.11. Conclusions -- ch. 14. Guarantees and warranties. 14.1. Case - Guarantee issues. 14.2. A guarantee by a third party. 14.3. Bonds. 14.4. Guarantee and good workmanship. 14.5. Warranties. 14.6. Decennial liability. 14.7. Summary and conclusions -- ch. 15. Contract law and tort law. 15.1. Case - The polluted drinking water. 15.2. Tort, tort law and contractual stipulations. 15.3. Tort in general civil law. 15.4. Applicable theory. 15.5. The practical descriptions of standard contracts. 15.6. Conclusions.