New JBCC Publication: JBCC 2020 AND ALL THAT – A practical application
by Prof MJ Maritz

The construction contracting arena is especially fraught with risks of all descriptions and a
thorough understanding of the contractual rights and obligations of the various parties
to the different contracts is essential to anyone involved in this field. Such understanding can
be very rewarding and enjoyable, but participants must learn and observe the rules, or they will
neither enjoy the activity nor be successful at it. The same applies to construction activities. It
may be a chore but learning the rules under which the industry operates is an essential
prerequisite to success.

The initials JBCC stand for the Joint Building Contracts Committee. This is an
organisation established in 1984 by various construction related bodies. It is now fully
representative of all the role-players in the Built Environment and includes the professions,
contractors’/subcontractors’ associations, the Black Business Council for the Built Environment and
the South African Property Owners Association. In the building sector of the construction industry
in South Africa the JBCC Agreements are by far the most used and enjoy wide acceptance. They are
also widely use in other African countries such as Botswana and Lesotho, but also others.

One of JBCC’s main functions is to publish, and update as necessary, construction agreements and
related back-up documents. Its first editions were published in 1991, and since then there have
been various editions, published at varying intervals. The latest 2018/2020 editions contain
important changes from previous editions and this book not only highlight these changes
but focusses on the interpretation and understanding of the contractual conditions that
users, especially contractors and subcontractors, have to deal with on their construction projects.