The ICE contracts have been withdrawn.

After 66 years of existence, the ICE Conditions of Contract have been withdrawn. We will now have to get used to an entirely new set of contracts called the Infrastructure Conditions of Contract.

The move follows the withdrawal (being a sad day for many) of the ICE from the ICE Conditions of Contract (which were first published in 1945) as it moves to endorsing the NEC3 Suite of Contracts.

In place of the ICE Conditions of Contract, trade bodies ACE and CECA have launched a new suite of standard forms of contract for infrastructure work, which are called the ‘Infrastructure Conditions of Contract’. These new contracts will be based on the ICE Conditions of Contract and will endeavour to offer to the Civil Engineering and Infrastructure industry continuity as the government identifies greater use of standard forms of contract as a means of eliminating waste from public sector construction.
Of course there may be ‘teething problems’ in the transfer over from the ICE Conditions of Contract to the Infrastructure Conditions of Contract, and the likely uptake of the new contract form is uncertain presently.

Therefore, if you have any queries about and/or require any advice in respect of the new Infrastructure contracts (or for that matter in respect of the demise of the ICE Conditions of Contract), you should immediately contact our office.