Article 13 The contract letting party shall bear the fault liability for the quality defects of the construction project caused by one of the following circumstances: (1) the design provided is defective; (2) the building materials, building components, fittings and equipment provided or designated for purchase do not meet the mandatory standards; (III) directly appoint subcontractors to subcontract professional projects.
If one party requests confirmation of invalidity on the ground that the contract deviates from the substantive content of the winning contract, the people’s court shall support it.
The Supreme People’s Court of the people’s Republic of China announced that the interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the application of law in the trial of disputes over construction contracts of construction projects (I) was adopted at the 1825th meeting of the judicial committee of the Supreme People’s Court on December 25, 2020.
Article 6 If the construction contract of a construction project is invalid and one party requests the other party to compensate for the losses, it shall bear the burden of proof on the other party’s fault, the size of the loss and the causal relationship between the fault and the loss.
Article 3 If a party requests to confirm that the construction contract of the construction project is invalid on the ground that the employer has not obtained the planning approval procedures such as the construction project planning license, the people’s court shall support it, except that the employer has obtained the planning approval procedures such as the construction project planning license before filing a lawsuit.
Article 9 If the parties have a dispute over the actual completion date of the construction project, the people’s court shall determine it according to the following circumstances: (1) if the construction project passes the completion acceptance, the date of completion acceptance shall be the date of completion; (2) if the contractor has submitted the completion acceptance report and the employer delays the acceptance, the date on which the Contractor submits the acceptance report shall be the completion date; (3) if the employer uses the construction project without completion acceptance, the date of transfer of possession of the construction project shall be the date of completion.
In addition to the winning contract, the tenderee and the winning bidder sign a separate contract for the purchase of contracted real estate, free construction of housing supporting facilities, transfer of profits, donation of property to the construction unit, etc., which reduces the project price in a disguised form.
If the contractor claims the extension of the construction period on this ground, the people’s court shall support it.
(II) if the contractor has actually entered the site for construction with the consent of the employer, the actual entry construction time shall be the commencement date.
It is hereby promulgated and shall enter into force as of January 1, 2021.
If the size of the loss cannot be determined, and one party requests to determine the size of the loss with reference to the quality standard, construction period, project price payment time and other contents agreed in the contract, the people’s court may make a judgment in combination with the degree of fault of both parties, the causal relationship between fault and loss and other factors.
Article 5 The people’s court shall not support the labor subcontracting contract signed by the contractor with legal qualification for labor operation and the general contractor or subcontractor if the party requests confirmation of invalidity.
Article 8 If the parties have a dispute over the commencement date of the construction project, the people’s court shall determine it according to the following circumstances: (1) the commencement date is the commencement date specified in the commencement notice issued by the employer or the supervisor; If the commencement conditions are not met after the issuance of the commencement notice, the time when the commencement conditions are met shall be the commencement date; If the commencement time is delayed due to the contractor, the time specified in the commencement notice shall be the commencement date.
Article 14 The people’s court shall not support the claim that the construction project has not been completed and accepted, and the employer has used it without authorization, and then claims the right on the ground that the quality of the used part does not meet the agreement; However, the Contractor shall bear civil liability for the quality of foundation works and main structure within the reasonable service life of the construction project.
Article 15 In case of any dispute over the quality of the construction project, the employer may bring a lawsuit with the general contractor, the subcontractor and the actual construction as the co defendants..
The construction contract signed by the contractor with others for subcontracting or illegally subcontracting the construction project shall be deemed invalid in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 153 and paragraphs 2 and 3 of article 791 of the civil code.
(III) if the employer or the supervisor fails to issue the commencement notice and there is no relevant evidence to prove the actual commencement date, the commencement date shall be determined by comprehensively considering the time specified in the commencement report, contract, construction license, completion acceptance report or completion acceptance filing form, and in combination with the fact whether the commencement conditions are met.
Although the contractor has not obtained the confirmation of the extension of the construction period, it can prove that it has applied to the employer or the supervisor for the extension of the construction period within the time limit agreed in the contract, and the reasons for the extension comply with the contract.
Article 4 If a contractor enters into a construction contract for a construction project beyond the business scope permitted by the qualification level and obtains the corresponding qualification level before the completion of the construction project, the people’s court shall not support the request of the party concerned to deal with it according to the invalid contract.
Article 7 Where an unqualified unit or individual signs a construction contract in the name of a qualified construction enterprise, and the employer requests the lender and the borrower to bear joint and several liability for the losses caused by the lending qualification such as the unqualified quality of the construction project, the people’s court shall support it.
If the parties agree that the Contractor fails to apply for the extension of the construction period within the agreed time limit, it shall be deemed that the construction period is not extended, and it shall be handled in accordance with the agreement, except that the employer agrees to the extension of the construction period after the agreed time limit or the contractor puts forward a reasonable defense.
Article 11 Before the completion of the construction project, if the parties have a dispute over the project quality, and the project quality has passed the appraisal, the appraisal period shall be extended.
Article 2 If the project scope, construction period, project quality, project price and other substantive contents agreed in the construction contract of the construction project separately signed by the tenderee and the bid winner are inconsistent with the bid winning contract, and one party requests to determine the rights and obligations in accordance with the bid winning contract, the people’s court shall support it.
Article 1 Under any of the following circumstances, the construction contract of a construction project shall be deemed invalid in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 153 of the Civil Code: (1) the contractor has not obtained the qualification of a construction enterprise or has exceeded the qualification level; (2) an unqualified actual constructor borrows the name of a qualified construction enterprise; (3) a construction project must be subject to bidding but fails to do so or the bid winning is invalid.
If the contractor is at fault, it shall also bear corresponding fault liability.
Article 10 The parties agree that the extension of the construction period shall be confirmed by the employer or the supervisor.
If the employer is able to go through the examination and approval procedures but fails to do so, and requests to confirm the invalidity of the construction contract of the construction project on the grounds of failing to go through the examination and approval procedures, the people’s court shall not support it.
Article 12 If the quality of the construction project is not in conformity with the agreement due to the contractor, the contractor refuses to repair, rework or reconstruct, and the employer requests to reduce the payment of the project price, the people’s court shall support it.
Supreme People’s court December 29, 2020 Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the application of law in the trial of disputes over construction contracts of construction projects (I) (adopted at the 1825th meeting of the judicial committee of the Supreme People’s Court on December 25, 2020 and implemented as of January 1, 2021) in order to correctly try disputes over construction contracts of construction projects and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the parties according to law, To maintain the order of the construction market and promote the healthy development of the construction market, this interpretation is formulated in accordance with the civil code of the people’s Republic of China, the construction law of the people’s Republic of China, the bidding law of the people’s Republic of China, the Civil Procedure Law of the people’s Republic of China and other relevant laws and regulations, in combination with the trial practice.
