Engineer, procure and construct contract (EPC contract) meaning

Early neutral evaluation Early neutral evaluation is a type of alternative dispute resolution in which the parties invite an independent third party to provide a view on the merits of the case, or on particular issues within it. The evaluator will typically be a legal professional or a specialist in the relevant field. See Practice Note: Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE). Early warning The early warning process features most prominently in the NEC3/NEC4 suite of contracts, although the concept also appears in some other standard forms. It obliges the contracting parties to notify each other, as soon as either becomes aware of any matter that might increase the total cost, delay completion, or reduce the performance of the finished works, allowing the issue to be tackled proactively. For further details on the NEC context, see Practice Note: NEC—risk management (The early warning procedure)...

This Practice Note provides guidance on exclusions and limits of liability relevant to engineer, procure and construct (EPC) contracts. It ought to be read with Practice Note: Limiting liability in construction contracts, which provides more detailed guidance on limits of liability generally. When examining any limitation or exclusion of liability clause within an EPC agreement, a central issue is the governing law that applies to that contract. That choice often affects both how the clause is construed in practice and whether it can be enforced. Considering the differing consequences arising under other jurisdictions lies beyond this note, and, unless expressly stated otherwise, all references herein are to the position under English law, together with the implications that flow from that position accordingly. When drafting any limitation or exclusion of liability clause, it is vital to use wording that is entirely clear and unambiguous. The majority of EPC agreements contain liability caps for these reasons: EPC arrangements are commonly deployed on large infrastructure and sophisticated facilities......