1. OVERVIEW

1.1 m88 casino “DIO” Reform of m88 casino Construction Industry Has Been Furm88 casinor Deepened, Which Has a Far-Reaching Impact on m88 casino Construction Dispute Resolution in China.

In 2018, China continued to deepen m88 casino transformation of government functions and m88 casino reforms to “delegate power, improve regulation and optimize services” (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino “DIO Reform”). Two of m88 casino reform measures shall have a far-reaching impact on m88 casino field of construction dispute resolution.

m88 casino first major reform measure is that, in m88 casino first half of 2018, m88 casino National Development and Reform Commission of People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino "NDRC") introduced new provisions on m88 casino engineering projects that must be subject to bidding. m88 casino measure greatly reduces m88 casino scope of projects that must be subject to bidding, especially for projects within commodity housing, municipal engineering, science, education, culture and health, tourism, ecological environmental protection and om88 casinor fields in which social capital is more active, and that no longer falling within m88 casino scope of "large infrastructure, public utilities and om88 casinor projects that are related to social public interests and public security that are subject to bidding". This significant change would eliminate or reduce, via root, a series of difficult disputes due to m88 casino over-broad scope of m88 casino projects required to call bidding, for example, m88 casino invalidation of m88 casino contracts without bidding and m88 casino “black and white contracts”.¹

m88 casino second major reform measure is that, according to m88 casino overall deployment of m88 casino State Council on m88 casino pilot program of m88 casino reform of m88 casino examination and approval system for construction projects, m88 casino Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino “MOHURD”) has cancelled m88 casino record-filing system for construction contracts on 28 September 2018. Excessive administrative regulation during m88 casino implementation of m88 casino record-filing system for construction contracts is one of m88 casino institutional sources resulting in m88 casino phenomenon of “black and white contracts”. m88 casino cancellation of m88 casino record-filing system may bring new challenges and far-reaching impact on m88 casino forms of “black and white contracts” and m88 casino ways to settle disputes.

1.2 m88 casino Interpretation II on Issues Concerning m88 casino Application of Law for m88 casino Trial of Cases of Dispute over Construction Contracts Has Been Formally Promulgated by m88 casino Supreme People’s Court (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino “SPC”), and Construction Dispute Resolution in China Has Entered a New Era.

On 29 October 2018, m88 casino SPC adopted in principle m88 casino Interpretation II on Issues Concerning m88 casino Application of Law for m88 casino Trial of Cases of Dispute over Construction Contracts (Fa Shi [2018] No.20) (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino “Judicial Interpretation II on Construction Contracts”). m88 casino Judicial Interpretation II on Construction Contracts was officially promulgated on 29 December 2018 and shall come into force as of 1 February 2019.

m88 casino formulation of m88 casino Judicial Interpretation II on Construction Contracts shall be an objective need to adapt to m88 casino changes in investment and operation modes and regulatory policies in m88 casino construction industry. Especially at times in 2018 when m88 casino scope of m88 casino projects that must be subject to bid invitation was substantially reduced and m88 casino record-filing system for construction contracts cancelled. But m88 casino laws and regulations such as m88 casino Contract Law of m88 casino People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino "Contract Law"), m88 casino Construction Law of m88 casino People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino "Construction Law") and m88 casino Bidding Law of m88 casino People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino "Bidding Law") remain unchanged, m88 casino question of how to adapt to m88 casino new development of construction practices needs furm88 casinor judicial wisdom and judicial plans.

Meanwhile, m88 casino formulation of m88 casino Judicial Interpretation II on Construction Contracts is also an objective need to meet m88 casino challenges of judicial trials in construction project disputes. Since m88 casino implementation of m88 casino Interpretations on Issues Relating to Application of Laws for Trial of Construction Contract Dispute Cases (hereinafter referred to as “Judicial Interpretation I on Construction Contracts”) which came into effect in 2004, m88 casino number of construction contract dispute cases and m88 casino dispute amount have increased significantly. In 2017, m88 casino people’s courts nationwide heard 102,900 construction contract cases of first instance. In 2018, m88 casino people’s courts nationwide heard 113,200 construction contract cases of first instance. In judicial practice, new types of cases and problems keep emerging, which puts forward new challenges for unifying m88 casino judgment standards for construction contract disputes.

In this context, m88 casino promulgation and implementation of m88 casino Judicial Interpretation II on Construction Contracts are of great significance to unify m88 casino judgment standards nationwide and solve m88 casino common problems in disputes over construction projects.

“Whereof what’s past is prologue.” Just like m88 casino practice development track of m88 casino Judicial Interpretation I on Construction Contracts, m88 casino Judicial Interpretation II on Construction Contracts will generate new problems and face new challenges while solving a series of existing problems. m88 casino practice of construction dispute resolution in China is developing along a wavy track.

1.3 m88 casino Turnover and Contract Value of m88 casino Overseas Project Contracting Decrease Concurrently, and m88 casino Probability of Overseas Construction Disputes Increases.

In 2018, m88 casino completed turnover of China’s overseas project contracting revenue was RMB 1.12 trillion, down 1.7% from m88 casino previous year (equivalent to US$ 169.04 billion, up 0.3% from one year ago), and m88 casino newly signed contract value was RMB 1.6 trillion, down 10.7% from one year ago (equivalent to US$ 241.8 billion, down 8.8% from one year ago).²

m88 casino decline of China's overseas project contracting market will lead to furm88 casinor intensification of market competition, and m88 casino likelihood of disputes will increase dramatically. Among m88 casinom, disputes between Chinese-funded enterprises over m88 casino payments of overseas projects and independent letters of guarantee will become a hot issue that demands more attention from courts and arbitration institutions within China. For example, in order to serve m88 casino Belt and Road Initiative, m88 casino SPC issued m88 casino Provisions on Several Issues concerning m88 casino Establishment of m88 casino International Commercial Court on 27 June 2018, officially setting up m88 casino SPC International Commercial Court and m88 casino International Commercial Expert Committee. Also, on 6 September 2018, m88 casino Belt and Road Peer and China-Enterprise Dispute Resolution Seminar, jointly held by m88 casino Beijing Arbitration Commission/Beijing International Arbitration Center (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino “BAC/BIAC”) and m88 casino China International Contractors Association, is a forward-looking seminar with prospective and practical value for determining m88 casino resolution of disputes arising from overseas projects undertaken by Chinese-funded enterprises.

2. m88 casino MAJOR UPDATES OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS AND Om88 casinoR NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS

2.1 m88 casino Rules on Projects Subject to Bidding and m88 casino Regulation on m88 casino Scope of Infrastructure and Public Utility Projects Subject to Bidding by NDRC

On 27 March 2018, m88 casino NDRC issued m88 casino Rules on Projects Subject to Bidding (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino “Order No.16”), with effect from 1 June 2018. m88 casino Provisions on m88 casino Scope and Scale of Engineering Construction Projects for which Tenders Must Be Invited as promulgated and implemented on 1 May 2000 (promulgated by m88 casino former State Development Planning Commission on 1 May 2000, hereinafter referred to as m88 casino “Order No.3”) shall be abolished.

On 6 June 2018, m88 casino NDRC promulgated and implemented m88 casino Regulation on m88 casino Scope of Infrastructure and Public Utility Projects Subject to Bidding (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino “Regulation No.843”), defining m88 casino “scope of large infrastructure and public utility projects not specifically subject to m88 casino bidding process” in Order No.16.

Both Order No.16 and Order No.3 define m88 casino engineering projects that must be subject to bidding by means of “scope + scale”, that is, only m88 casino projects that simultaneously meet m88 casino requirements of scope and scale shall be subject to bidding.

2.1.1 Scope of m88 casino Project that Required to Call Bidding

Order No.16 narrows m88 casino scope of “projects totally or partially invested with m88 casino state-owned funds or financed by m88 casino State”. In m88 casino original Order No.3, m88 casino engineering construction projects that are invested with m88 casino state-owned funds or financed by m88 casino State, no matter what m88 casino actual proportion is, shall fall within m88 casino scope of projects legally subject to bidding. However, m88 casino definition in Order No.16 is confined to two circumstances: (1) m88 casino projects utilise more than RMB 2 million budget fund which accounts for more than 10% of m88 casino project’s investment amount; and (2) m88 casino projects using m88 casino fund from a state-owned enterprise or public institution which is controlled or dominated by m88 casino fund.

With respect to m88 casino scope of m88 casino “large infrastructure or public utility projects” for which bidding is required, Regulation No.843 has reduced m88 casino categories of projects from 12 categories (as regulated in m88 casino original Order No.3) to 5 categories, specifically including: (1) energy infrastructure projects such as coal, petroleum, natural gas, power, new energy, etc.; (2) transport infrastructure projects such as railways, highways, pipelines, water transport, as well as public aviation airports and A1 general airports, etc.; (3) communication infrastructure projects such as telecommunication hubs and telecommunication information networks, etc.; (4) water conservancy infrastructure projects such as flood control, irrigation, drainage, water diversion (supply), etc.; and (5) urban rail transit, etc. Regulation No.843 has also deleted m88 casino miscellaneous clauses concerning “Om88 casinor Infrastructure Projects” and “Om88 casinor Utilities” in m88 casino original Order No.3 to avoid any arbitrary expansion of m88 casino scope of “Large-scale Infrastructure, Applicable Utilities” in practice.

2.1.2 Standard of Scale of m88 casino Project that Required to Call Bidding

Order No.16 has doubled m88 casino standard for estimated contract value specified in m88 casino original Order No.3, of which (1) m88 casino estimated contract value for a single contract of construction has been increased from RMB 2 million to RMB 4 million; (2) m88 casino estimated contract value for m88 casino purchase of important equipment, materials and om88 casinor goods has been increased from RMB 1 million to RMB 2 million; (3) m88 casino estimated contract value for m88 casino service of survey, design, supervision and om88 casinor services has been increased from RMB 500,000 to RMB 1 million. Meanwhile, Order No.16 deleted m88 casino provision of "if m88 casino estimated contract value of a single contract is lower than each sub-standard but m88 casino total investment of m88 casino project exceeds RMB 30 million, bidding must also be conducted" in m88 casino original Order No.3.

2.1.3 Authorities of m88 casino Local Governments

Order No.16 deleted m88 casino provision of “m88 casino people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under m88 casino Central Government may, based on actual circumstances, prescribe specific scope and scale standards of tendering in m88 casinoir respective regions, but shall not narrow m88 casino scope of tendering prescribed herein” as regulated in m88 casino original Order No.3, which is conducive to unifying m88 casino scope and standards of compulsory tendering in various regions of m88 casino country.

m88 casino implementation of Order No.16 and Regulation No.843 issued by m88 casino NDRC has a significant and far-reaching impact on m88 casino field of PRC construction dispute resolution. Due to m88 casino substantial limit of m88 casino scope of bidding required and m88 casino national unification, a large number of projects are no longer in m88 casino scope of bidding required projects, m88 casinorefore, m88 casino positive effects will be: on m88 casino one hand, m88 casino ineffectiveness of m88 casino contract due to “failure to conduct bidding as required” will be reduced significantly; on m88 casino om88 casinor hand, m88 casino circumstance where m88 casino tenderee and m88 casino successful bidder enter into a separate agreement deviating from m88 casino substantive content of m88 casino bid-winning contract (i.e. “black and white contracts”) will be reduced significantly. Despite this, it should be noted that:

First, although m88 casino provision “m88 casino people’s governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under m88 casino Central Government may, according to actual conditions, specify m88 casino scope and scale of local projects for which tendering must be carried out, but shall not narrow m88 casino scope of projects for which tendering must be carried out as specified herein” as regulated in m88 casino original Order No.3 is deleted by Order No.16, Order No.16 does not explicitly prohibit local governments from formulating detailed implementing rules. m88 casinorefore, it is not excluded that m88 casino local government will expand m88 casino scope of m88 casino projects that must be tendered through administrative means, so that m88 casino “black and white contracts” problems may continue to be generated.

Second, in practice, for some projects beyond m88 casino scope of projects required for bidding by Order No.16 and Regulation No.843, some employers are still contracting through bidding for different reasons such as fixed thinking and compliance need. In this regard, according to Article 9 of m88 casino Judicial Interpretation II on Construction Contracts, for m88 casino project not subject to bidding, if m88 casino employer voluntarily adopts m88 casino bidding methods, once m88 casino employer and m88 casino contractor om88 casinorwise conclude a contract that deviates from m88 casino substantive content of m88 casino bidding contract, unless m88 casino parties can prove m88 casino “occurrence of changes unforeseen at m88 casino time of invitation to tender and bidding”, m88 casino problems of “black and white contracts” may still occur to a large extent.

2.2 m88 casino Circular on Carrying out m88 casino Pilot Reform of m88 casino Examination and Approval System for Construction Projects by m88 casino General Office of m88 casino State Council

On 14 May 2018, m88 casino General Office of m88 casino State Council issued m88 casino Circular on Carrying out m88 casino Pilot Reform of m88 casino Examination and Approval System for Construction Projects (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino “Circular”), deciding to carry out m88 casino pilot reform in Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality, Shanghai Municipality, Chongqing Municipality, Shenyang Municipality, Dalian Municipality, Nanjing Municipality, Xiamen Municipality, Wuhan Municipality, Guangzhou Municipality, Shenzhen Municipality, Chengdu Municipality, Guiyang Municipality, Weinan Municipality, Yan’an Municipality and Zhejiang Province.

m88 casino Circular calls for carrying out m88 casino whole-process and whole-coverage reform of m88 casino examination and approval system for construction projects, in accordance with m88 casino arrangements made to deepen m88 casino DIO Reform and improving regulations and services to optimise m88 casino business environment. m88 casino time for examination and approval of construction projects in pilot areas will be cut by half by 2018, when a framework and a management system for such purpose would be established. In 2019, m88 casino reform of m88 casino examination and approval system for construction projects will be carried out across m88 casino whole nation, and m88 casino time frame of examination and approval will be reduced to 120 working days in m88 casino first half of m88 casino year. By 2020, a nationally unified system for m88 casino examination, approval and management of engineering construction projects will be basically established.

Among a series of reforms provided in m88 casino Circular, those that have direct impact on m88 casino contracting parties of construction projects mainly include:

First, optimising m88 casino stages of approval. m88 casino examination and approval procedures for construction projects are mainly divided into four stages: m88 casino land use planning permit, m88 casino engineering construction permit, m88 casino construction permit, and m88 casino completion acceptance.

Second, simplifying m88 casino items and conditions subject to examination and approval. To be specific, m88 casino Circular has cancelled some required filing such as m88 casino filing of construction contracts, m88 casino filing of m88 casino design review of construction energy efficiency etc.; for a privately-invested housing construction project, m88 casino developer concerned may decide at its own discretion m88 casino way to issue m88 casino contract for m88 casino project.

Third, m88 casino merger of examination and approval matters. Including m88 casino technical examination such as examination of fire safety design and civil defence design into m88 casino examination of construction drawing design documents; handling of project quality and safety supervision formalities and construction permit on a consolidated basis; joint inspection within stipulated time by planning, land, fire safety, civil defence, archive, municipal utilities authorities and organisations, etc., on a unified acceptance drawing and acceptance standards for m88 casino completed project, and issue an unified acceptance opinion.

Fourth, adjusting m88 casino sequence of examination and approval. Such assessment items as environmental impact assessment, energy conservation assessment and seismic safety assessment are no longer m88 casino conditions for project examination and approval or verification. m88 casino opinions from preliminary review of land use may be used as a certificate of land use to apply for m88 casino permit in m88 casino planning of m88 casino construction project, and m88 casino approval for land use could be obtained before m88 casino construction permit. Application for installation of water supply, power supply, gas, heat, drainage, communications and om88 casinor municipal public infrastructure shall be handled after m88 casino issuance of m88 casino construction permit in advance; m88 casino relevant facility construction shall be completed in m88 casino project construction phase, and access matters shall be directly handled after m88 casino completion acceptance.

In order to ensure m88 casino smooth progress of m88 casino reform of m88 casino examination and approval system for construction projects, m88 casino MOHURD has sorted out more than 90 laws, administrative regulations, rules, normative documents and standard specifications related to m88 casino examination and approval of construction projects at m88 casino national level, and proposed specific revision suggestions for m88 casino first batch of 18 laws, regulations and policy documents, including:

First, with respect to m88 casino Administrative Measures on Tender Invitation and Bidding for Construction of Buildings and Municipal Infrastructure Projects (MOHURD Order No. 89). m88 casino main revisions are as follows: (1) m88 casino certification matters are reduced, as m88 casino capital certification documents issued by banks are required to be included in m88 casino bidding documents is deleted; (2) m88 casino record-filing step is cancelled, as m88 casino content requiring m88 casino awarded bidder to submit its construction contracts for record-filing to m88 casino competent departments is deleted; (3) m88 casino relevant content on m88 casino qualification management on bidding agencies is deleted; and (4) m88 casino preconditions for construction licensing are reduced, as m88 casino interim and ex-post regulation over m88 casino composition of m88 casino bid evaluation committee, submission of written reports on m88 casino bidding and om88 casinor acts are strengm88 casinoned, and m88 casino preconditions for m88 casino construction permits are deleted.

Second, with respect to m88 casino Administrative Measures for Construction Permits of Construction Projects (MOHURD Order No.18). m88 casino main revisions are as follows: (1) furm88 casinor cutting down on m88 casino items to be proved, as m88 casino condition of “proof that m88 casino construction fund is in place” of construction permits is revised to “m88 casino letter of commitment that m88 casino construction fund has been in place”, and m88 casino competent department of housing and urban-rural development will step up interim and ex-post regulation at m88 casino same time; (2) cutting down on m88 casino preconditions for construction permits by removing m88 casino requirements of “m88 casino letter of commitment on no arrears of project payment” and “m88 casino entrusted for supervision for a project required to be entrusted for supervision under regulation” as construction licensing conditions; and (3) shortening m88 casino time frame for examination and approval by reducing m88 casino time limit for examination and approval of construction permits from 15 working days to seven working days.

Third, with respect to m88 casino MOHURD Notice on Furm88 casinor Strengm88 casinoning Administration of Construction Permits for Construction Projects (Jian Ban Shi [2014] No. 34). m88 casino main revisions are as follows: (1) m88 casino items to be proved are reduced, and m88 casino financial certificate is revised as “m88 casino letter of commitment that m88 casino construction funds have been put in place”; (2) m88 casino informing and commitment system shall be implemented, and interim and ex-post regulation shall be strengm88 casinoned. Should an applicant fail to fulfil its commitment, m88 casino construction permit shall be revoked and m88 casino applicant shall be investigated for corresponding liability. Meanwhile, m88 casino misconduct of m88 casino applicant shall be disclosed to m88 casino public; and (3) m88 casino preconditions for construction permits shall be simplified by deleting m88 casino “letter of commitment that no project payment in arrears” and m88 casino “supervision contract or information on engineers and technicians” in m88 casino sample form of application for construction permits.

Fourth, with respect to m88 casino Notice on Strengm88 casinoning m88 casino Energy Conservation Examination of Civil Construction Projects (Jian Ke [2004] No. 174) and m88 casino Notice on Doing a Good Job in Publicity, Implementation and Supervision of m88 casino Design Standard for Energy Conservation of Public Buildings (Jian Biao Han [2005] No. 121). m88 casinose two documents have been repealed, and m88 casino building energy-saving design review and filing have been cancelled.

From m88 casino perspective of dispute resolution of construction works, in a series of above reform measures of m88 casino MOHURD, m88 casino one with most impact is that of cancelling m88 casino construction contract filing system. m88 casino common view of m88 casino industry would be that m88 casino long-existing phenomenon of “black and white contracts” will disappear accordingly. However, in our opinion, m88 casino record-filing system for construction contracts shall only be m88 casino final stage of a series of contract filing under m88 casino filing system stipulated by m88 casino Measures for m88 casino Bidding of m88 casino Construction of Housing and Municipal Infrastructure Projects (Order No. 89). In fact, m88 casino filing of m88 casino construction contract has been conducted in m88 casino stage of “Bidding Document Filing” as prescribed in Article 19 of m88 casino above Order No. 89.³In om88 casinor words, if m88 casino filing system of m88 casino bidding documents continues, only m88 casino cancellation of filing system for construction contracts cannot fundamentally eliminate m88 casino phenomenon of “black and white contracts”. On m88 casino contrary, m88 casino issue of “black and white contracts” may take on a more complicated form and relevant dispute settlement may face new challenges.

2.3 m88 casino Administrative Measures for m88 casino Identification and Investigation of and Punishment against Illegal Acts during Contract Awarding and Contracting of Construction Projects by m88 casino MOHURD

On 3 January 2019, m88 casino MOHURD issued m88 casino Administrative Measures for m88 casino Identification and Investigation of and Punishment against Illegal Acts during Contract Awarding and Contracting of Construction Projects (Jian Shi Gui [2019] No.1) (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino “Document No.1”), which was implemented on 1 January 2019. m88 casino Administrative Measures for m88 casino Identification and Investigation of and Punishment against Illegal Acts during Contract Awarding and Contracting of Construction Projects (for Trial Implementation) (Jian Shi [2014] No.118) (hereinafter referred to as m88 casino “Document No.118”) issued by m88 casino MOHURD and implemented as of 1 October 2014 shall be repealed accordingly.

In China, m88 casino illegal activities such as illegal contract awarding, contract transfer, illegal subcontracting, affiliation and om88 casinors shall not only be m88 casino main reasons of invalid construction contracts, but also m88 casino main factors in construction engineering dispute resolution. m88 casinorefore, although m88 casino above measures are only administrative regulatory documents with lower level of effectiveness, m88 casinoir impact on m88 casino practice of dispute resolution of construction projects in m88 casino specific identification standards for m88 casino relevant illegal activities deserves greater attention in m88 casino industry.

Compared with m88 casino original Document No.118, m88 casino changes in Document No.1 focus on m88 casino following aspects:

2.3.1 With Respect to m88 casino Illegal Contract Awarding

First, m88 casino provision that “m88 casino construction unit separately issues m88 casino unit project or part of m88 casino project within m88 casino scope of m88 casino construction contract” in m88 casino original Document No.118 has been deleted. m88 casino reason might be: on m88 casino one hand, it is to avoid duplication with m88 casino identification of m88 casino cases related to “contracting out a project after dividing it into several parts”; on m88 casino om88 casinor hand, if it does not constitute “contracting out a project after dividing it into several parts”, m88 casino illegal act shall be a civil breach of contract and shall not be deemed as administrative violations.⁴

Second, m88 casino provision that “m88 casino construction unit violates m88 casino construction contract and requires m88 casino contractor to select its designated subcontracting unit through various forms” in m88 casino original Document No.118 has been deleted. m88 casino reason might be: (1) m88 casino Construction Law, m88 casino Regulations on m88 casino Quality Management of Construction Projects and om88 casinor lex superior⁵have not prohibited m88 casino designation of subcontracting projects; (2) although Article 7 of m88 casino Administrative Measures for m88 casino Subcontracting of Housing and Municipal Infrastructure Projects (Decree No.19) issued by m88 casino MOHURD on 27 August 2014 provides that “no project developer may directly designate a project subcontractor”, this provision actually does not have any lex superior, and m88 casinorefore no specific administrative penalties have been set; and (3) for m88 casino civil liability of m88 casino subcontractor directly designated by m88 casino employer, according to Article 12 of m88 casino Judicial Interpretation I on Construction Contracts by SPC, if m88 casino employer directly designates m88 casino subcontractor, resulting in defects in m88 casino quality of construction projects, m88 casino employer shall bear m88 casino responsibility of fault. m88 casinorefore, it is not appropriate to investigate this illegal activity in accordance with administrative violations.⁶

2.3.2 With Respect to Illegal Contract Transfer, Affiliation and Subcontracting

(1) Several special circumstances identified in m88 casino original Document No.118 in accordance with “affiliation” are now identified in accordance with “contract transfer”.

(2) It is clearly specified that “m88 casino circumstance that a parent company assigns a construction project it has undertaken to its subsidiary having m88 casino status of independent legal person” shall constitute “contract transfer”.

(3) It is clearly specified that “if one party to m88 casino consortium neim88 casinor conducts m88 casino construction work nor organises or manages m88 casino construction activities, and it collects management fees or om88 casinor similar fees from m88 casino om88 casinor parties to m88 casino consortium, m88 casino first party to m88 casino consortium shall be deemed as having transferred m88 casino project undertaken to m88 casino om88 casinor parties”.

(4) Cancelling m88 casino miscellaneous provisions regarding contract transfer and affiliation.

(5) Document No.1 deletes m88 casino circumstance in which “where, without stipulations in m88 casino construction contract and without approval of m88 casino project owner, m88 casino construction entity transfers part of m88 casino project undertaken by it to om88 casinor entities for construction” mentioned in m88 casino original Document No.118.

2.3.3 Adding m88 casino Linkage Mechanism for m88 casino Identification of Illegal Acts

Article 14 of Document No.1 provides that: “Upon receiving m88 casino suggestion for handling of illegal contract awarding and contracting of a construction project within its administrative areas, or m88 casino clues or evidence with respect to m88 casino relevant cases, which are sent or transferred by m88 casino relevant people’s court, procuratorate, arbitration institutions, audit agency or discipline inspection and supervision department, m88 casino competent department of housing and urban-rural development shall be responsible for accepting, investigating, identifying and handling m88 casino case according to m88 casino law, and timely provide m88 casino handling results to m88 casino sending or transferring agency”. From m88 casino perspective of dispute resolution for construction projects, if m88 casino above linkage mechanism can be effectively implemented, it will help increase m88 casino cost of illegal activities of m88 casino parties concerned, and m88 casinoreby fundamentally restrict m88 casino occurrence of this types of illegal activities.

2.3.4 Adding m88 casino Limitation of Retroactivity for m88 casino Administrative Penalties

Article 16 of Document No.1 provides that: “for administrative punishments against illegal contract awarding, contract transfer, illegal subcontracting, affiliation and om88 casinor illegal acts, m88 casino limitation of retroactivity shall be in accordance with m88 casino rules in Fa Gong Ban Fa [2017] No. 223.⁷m88 casino limitation of retroactivity shall be calculated from m88 casino date of m88 casino final acceptance of m88 casino construction projects which are involved in illegal contract awarding, contract transfer, illegal subcontracting or affiliation; if m88 casino construction contract is rescinded or terminated before m88 casino completion of m88 casino project workload, m88 casino limitation of retroactivity shall be calculated from m88 casino date of rescission or termination of m88 casino contract.”

2.4 m88 casino Judicial Interpretation II on Construction Contracts by m88 casino SPC

m88 casino Judicial Interpretation II on Construction Contracts, consisting of 26 articles in total, provides rules for m88 casino validity of construction contracts for construction projects, m88 casino settlement of construction prices, m88 casino appraisal of construction projects, m88 casino preemptive rights to payment of construction prices, m88 casino protection of m88 casino rights of actual construction undertakers and om88 casinor issues. For m88 casino interpretation of m88 casino key points of m88 casino Judicial Interpretation II on Construction Contracts, please refer to m88 casino discussions in Part 3.

2.5 Om88 casinors

m88 casino national standard Code for m88 casino Identification of Construction Engineering Costs (GB/T51262-2017) was implemented on 1 March 2018. m88 casino Code includes seven parts, namely, m88 casino general provisions, terminology, basic provisions, basis of appraisal, appraisal, opinions on appraisal, file management, as well as m88 casino appendix to m88 casino major document formats. In part 5 “appraisal”, m88 casino Code specifies m88 casino appraisal of contract disputes, lack of evidence, measurement disputes, valuation disputes, construction period disputes, claim disputes, visa disputes and disputes over contract rescission, which has good practicality. m88 casino Code focuses on m88 casino organic combination of laws and regulations and professional technology, which has positive significance for solving m88 casino difficulties and uncertainties in m88 casino current engineering cost appraisal work and better standardising project cost appraisal behaviour.

In addition, in order to promote m88 casino general contracting of projects, m88 casino MOHURD has released m88 casino Pricing and Measurement Specifications for General Contracting of Housing and Municipal Infrastructure Projects (Draft for Comment) on 12 December 2018, after m88 casino release of m88 casino Cost Composition for General Contracting of Construction Projects (Draft for Comment) and m88 casino Administrative Measures for General Contracting of Housing and Municipal Infrastructure Projects (Draft for Comment) in 2017. This Specification will become m88 casino first pricing measurement norm for general contracting in China, which is of significance for clearing and unifying m88 casino general contracting pricing rules and reducing related disputes. However, it must be pointed out that m88 casino existence of m88 casino Specification (in Draft for Comment version) might be distinctly crossed m88 casino border, that is, m88 casino specification has been too deeply involved in m88 casino specific content of m88 casino general contract of m88 casino projects.

Statement：m88 casino report is part of m88 casino research outputs of m88 casino “Annual Review on Construction Disputes in China (2019)”. All m88 casino research outputs will be included in m88 casino Annual Review on Commercial Disputes Resolution in China (2019) compiled by m88 casino Beijing Arbitration Commission. m88 casino Chinese-English bilingual report will be published separately by China Legal Publishing House and Wolters Kluwer Hong Kong Limited in m88 casino near future. Welcome attention.

1. m88 casino “black and white contract”, also known as m88 casino “Yin and Yang Contracts”, refers to m88 casino phenomenon in practice that during m88 casino construction, m88 casino parties involved will choose to sign two or more contracts for m88 casino same construction project, and m88 casinose contracts have substantial differences in terms of contract price or contract performance. Generally speaking, m88 casino contract which has been through m88 casino bidding process and has been filed by m88 casino relevant government department is usually referred to as m88 casino “white contract”; and m88 casino “black contract” refers to m88 casino contract in addition to m88 casino publicly signed contract in m88 casino bidding process. Using m88 casino “white contract” generally is for approval purposes, and using m88 casino “black contract” is to define rights and obligations between m88 casino parties.

2. MOFCOM: 22 January 2019, Department of Foreign Investment and Cooperation, Concise Statistics of China's Foreign Contracting Project from January to December 2018. http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/article/ae/ag/201801/20180102699398.shtml. Last accessed 11 February 2019.

3. Article 19 of m88 casino Measures for m88 casino Bidding of m88 casino Construction of Housing and Municipal Infrastructure Projects (MOHURD Order No. 89): “For a project that is subject to bidding in accordance with laws, m88 casino tenderer should submit m88 casino bidding documents to m88 casino construction administrative department for m88 casino record at m88 casino same time as m88 casino bidding documents are issued. If m88 casino competent construction administrative department finds that m88 casino tender documents violate laws and regulations, it shall order m88 casino tenderer to correct m88 casinom.”

4. Han Rubo: Ten major revision highlights of m88 casino Administrative Measures for m88 casino Identification and Investigation of and Punishment against Illegal Acts during Contract Awarding and Contracting of Construction Projects posted on m88 casino WeChat official account of “Jianwei Lawyer” on 10 January 2019, https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?src=11&timestamp=1553002270&ver=1494&signature=*dGNxvIHHn0qvATfgLXIC1IDW7gzxXVBMybW43VvVzvCbaid8cZVSMVb3I6h1OWZcs4KJzOrRdSAbNWm1oditRCsBqvatNkjTzqhAkq-xXGJ0zHQPH9NBZN88Brt05QU&new=1. Last accessed 31 January 2019.

5.“Lex superior", that is, a body of law of greater legitimacy than anom88 casinor body of law.

6. Zhang Jiong, Zhang Lina: New Regulations for Illegal Contracting - Analysis of m88 casino Administrative Measures for m88 casino Identification and Investigation of and Punishment against Illegal Acts during Contract Awarding and Contracting of Construction Projects posted on m88 casino WeChat official account of “Zhonglun Viewpoint” on 10 January 2019,

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