Law and Economics Analysis of Tools for Adaptation of FIDIC Standard Contracts to Russian Law

• Варавенко Виктор Евгеньевич

  Viktor E. Varavenko. Vladivostok State University. Vladivostok. Russia

• Ниязова Марина Валентиновна

  Marina V. Niyazova. Vladivostok State University. Vladivostok. Russia

Abstract. The strategic development of construction services export requires a universal contractual framework based on the practices of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC). The study is devoted to the analysis of the implements for adapting FIDIC model contracts issued in the form of the Guidance to advise on entering into contract. Based on the assumptions of economic analysis of law, the paper estimates the effect of the regulatory impact of model contracts adapted to the national law. Suggested here is the approach to analyzing and estimating the performance of regulation based on the criteria including transaction (information) costs to accompany the process
of rights perfection, opportunist behavior on the part of project participants and the risk of release from contractual liability. The survey of the Guidance amendments to the conditions of the standard form contracts contained in the Guidance enabled them to fall into five groups. The research proved the effectiveness of separate groups. With regard to the risk of release from contractual liability, three out of five groups of amendments turn out to solve the problem of this risk of distribution, thus contributing to a positive effect, as there are no changes in the cost and expected gain of the investment and construction project. The ambiguity of the assessment identified in the opportunist behavior
criterion results from the objective properties of the investment and construction project. The shorter the contract performance time, fewer parties concerned and less specific the subject matter of the contract, the lower the negative effect in terms of this criterion is. The criterion of transaction (information) costs shows non-susceptibility of the Guidance (in three out of the five groups of amendments) to the assessment whose identification serves to be the subject of a separate study. The results of the study admit of theoretical and practical relevance. They can be in the implementation of investment and construction projects by parties concerned.
Keywords: standard contract, adaptation tools, economics and law, regulatory impact, efficiency, International Federation of Consulting Engineers, export of construction services.