The duty to cooperate in construction projects

Due to the inherent complexity of a construction project (long execution time, multi-party, complex object of the contract and uncertainty of environmental factors), cooperation between all construction actors is necessary to successfully complete the construction project. Moreover societal requirements that construction projects must meet are increasingly higher and more ambitious. Sustainability and ecological challenges require climate-neutral buildings with reusable building materials. New building standards and practices (e.g. circular construction) make good collaboration on the construction site an absolute top priority more than ever. Yet there is no conceptual framework for collaboration in Belgium. The exact content and legal consequences are unclear. Moreover, liability within the construction network is problematic. The contractual relativity principle prevents contractual liability towards non-contracting parties. Strict concurrence rules simultaneously preclude extra-contractual liability. The intent of this proposed functional and integrated comparative research (between Belgian, German, Dutch and Swiss law) is to provide a conceptual framework for the duty of cooperation and its enforcement in construction projects. This framework will give plain guidance to all actors of what is expected from them (cooperation) and clear answers when things go wrong on who can be held liable and to what extent (enforcement).