International treatise on construction specification problems from a legal perspective

Abstract

Given the limitations of construction drawings, clear specifications are important in conveying technical requirements of the owners to the constructors. However, apart from the contextual differences across the world, specifications share one common characteristic, i.e., they are not always prepared with due care and understanding of the problems that will arise from their misuse or nonuse. Disputes have arisen from defective specifications, material substitutions, noncompliance, different interpretations, enforcement slack, etc. Expensive litigation has been used to resolve these problems, which could well be avoided with proper drafting and appropriate use of specifications. This paper identifies and outlines common deficiencies and traces the efforts put into the improvement of specification writing, through a selection of legal cases in various jurisdictions with commentaries. © 2007 ASCE.