5.5 The choice of contract conditions is a matter for the client, who arranges the funding for the project and/or pays for it. Where both main parties in the process - employer and contractor - are equally matched, the choice of contract conditions may be mutually agreed. In practice, market forces usually make one party dominant.
5.6 I have considered whether the recommendations made later in this Report - and especially those involving legislation set out in Chapter 8 - should also apply to work covered by IChemE and I MechE/IEE contract documents. No detailed concern has been expressed to the Review by the process plant sector. However, I note that some process plant clients, particularly in the water and power industries, already use the NEC and/or have joined the NEC Users' Group. It is possible that other process plant clients may wish to use this contract, with its emphasis on teamwork. The Implementation Forum proposed in Chapter 12 should consider further, prior to the drafting of the legislation, whether the process plant sector should be covered by it.
5.7 I have received a great deal of evidence about the Standard JCT and ICE Forms and domestic subcontracts which are designed to accompany them (such as DOM/1 and the "Blue Form"). Their reception is mixed and, in practice, many significant public and private clients and contractors either heavily amend or do not use the Standard Forms. This suggests that the time has come for a fresh look at the issue.