Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: After its introduction in 1993, the use of the NEC is still limited in the civil engineering industry of South Africa. The benefits of the NEC however appear to be promising. This research identifies the barriers of a NEC adoption. Moreover, in order to recommend strategies and measures to achieve a better NEC adoption, required success factors for a NEC implementation are investigated. Beneficial insights for South Africa are gained from the Dutch UAV-GC introduction experiences. A literature study is conducted to define the research needs and focus. Both contracts are analysed and compared. These findings are then used to validate the assumed advantages of the NEC by correlating them to the contract content. Subsequently, expert interviews are conducted in which the advantages, disadvantages, barriers for adoption and success factors for implementation of the NEC are explored. Interviews with seven South African experts also contained a short-questionnaire. The short-questionnaire gave a quantitative context as validation for the qualitative advantages. In addition, three interviews with Dutch experts were conducted. In this manner the Dutch UAVGC introduction experiences were explored. In the research synthesis, findings from the various sources are validated. This is achieved through a comparison of the different methods applied in the study. The barriers identified as the main cause of obstruction to the NEC adoption are a lack of knowledge, understanding, education, effective training courses and skills in procurement strategy, contract management and general project management. Furthermore, there is a resistance from industry because of the preference for the South African contract forms. Another resistance is from employers, due to the desire for some grey area in their contract form. Principal success factors necessary for the implementation of the NEC are education, training, promotion, and a proper understanding of the NEC as well as its philosophy and benefits. Consequently, a culture change towards collaborations would be necessary. In addition employers must apply and improve their procurement strategies. As a result, the NEC would be identified as their best tool for procurement. A helpful success factor, extracted from the Dutch experience, is the requirement for knowledge sharing between governmental bodies in order to guide innovations. For optimum industry performance by the more frequent use of the NEC, this research has resulted in the following recommendations: • The industry should not be afraid to question tradition and to initiate the required cultural change towards increasing collaboration • An in uential South African institute should take responsibility for the promotion, monitoring and training of the NEC • Educate students on the NEC and other contracts based on all possible procurement strategies • An adoption strategy should be applied for inexperienced NEC parties • NEC should be used as the stimulator for improvement of South African project management practices in construction projects • Organize regular knowledge sharing meetings between governmental departments to stimulate and improve innovations • Employers should improve their procurement practices. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Na sy bekendstelling in 1993, is die gebruik van die NEC steeds beperk in die Suid- Afrikaanse ingenieursbedryf. Die voordele vir die gebruik daarvan blyk egter tog belowend te wees. Hierdie navorsing identifiseer die hindernisse wat gepaard gaan met die gebruik van die NEC in die bedryf. Die studie ondersoek ook die faktore wat 'n rol speel by die implementering van die NEC, om sodoende strategieë vir 'n meer omvattende gebruik van die NEC aan te beveel. Lesse om 'n nuwe kontrakdokument in die bedryf in te bring word geleer uit die Nederlandse ervaring met die UAV-GC. 'n Literatuurstudie is uitgevoer om die behoeftes en fokus van die navorsing te definieer. Beide kontrakvorms is geanaliseer en met mekaar vergelyk. Hierdie bevindinge is daarna gebruik om die voor- en nadele wat die NEC inhou te bevestig, deur dit te vergelyk met die inhoud van die kontrak. Onderhoude is gevolglik gevoer met industriedeelnemers waarin die voordele, nadele, hindernisse vir en die suksesfaktore vir die implementering van die NEC ondersoek is. Die sewe onderhoude wat met Suid-Afrikaanse deskundiges gevoer is, het elk 'n kort vraelys ingesluit. Die kort vraelys verleen 'n kwantitatiewe bevestiging van die bevindinge. Aansluitend is daar ook drie onderhoude met Nederlandse deskundiges gevoer. Op hierdie wyse is die Nederlandse ervarings ondersoek met die inlywing van die UAV-GC. In die navorsingsintese word die bevindinge van die verskillende bronne bevestig. Dit word bereik deur 'n vergelyking van die resultate van die verskillende metodes wat in die studie gebruik is. Hindernisse wat geïdentifiseer is as die hoof oorsaak vir die beperkte inlywing van die NEC in die bedryf, is die tekort aan kennis, begrip, opvoeding, effektiewe opleidingskursusse, vaardighede in aankoopstrategieë, tekort aan kennis oor kontrakbestuur en ook algemene projekbestuur. Boonop is daar teëstand van die bedryf weens die voorkeur vir Suid-Afrikaanse kontrakvorms. Verdere teëstand word verkry deur werkgewers vanweë die behoefte na grys area in hul kontrakte. Die belangrikste faktore wat benodig word vir die suksesvolle implementering van die NEC is opleiding, kennis en begrip van die NEC, asook begrip van sy filosofie en voordele. 'n Kultuur verandering, met die fokus op samewerking tussen partye, is noodsaaklik. Werkgewers moet verder hul aankoopstrategieë verbeter. 'n Nuttige faktor vir die suksesvolle inlywing van die NEC, verkry uit die Nederlandse ervaring, is die vereiste vir die uitruil van kennis onder staatsdepartemente om sodoende die veranderinge te lei. Om die gebruik van die NEC optimaal by die Suid-Afrikaanse ingenieursbedryf in te lei, het die navorsing tot die volgende gevolgtrekkings gelei: • Die bedryf moet nie huiwer om tradisie te bevraagteken nie. Dit is nodig dat kultuurveranderinge gemaak word om samewerking tussen partye te bewerkstellig • 'n Invloedryke Suid-Afrikaanse instituut moet verantwoordelikheid neem vir die bevordering, die monitering en opleiding vir die gebruik van die NEC • Studente moet opgelei word met blootstelling aan die NEC asook blootstelling aan 'n verskeidenheid van aankoopstrategieë • 'n Strategie moet ontwikkel word om partye wat onbekend is met die NEC daarvan bewus te maak • Die NEC moet gebruik word as bron wat die Suid-Afrikaanse projekbestuurs- en kontrakbestuuromgewings kan verbeter • Daar moet skakeling wees tussen staatsdepartemente om sodoende verandering te bevorder en te verbeter in aankoopstrategieë • Werkgewers moet hulle aankoopstrategieë en praktyke verbeter.

Romėnų teisininkai aiškino, jog sutarčiai sudaryti vien šalių vidinės valios, noro nepakanka - vidinė valia, kol nėra išreikšta, negali sukelti teisinių padarinių, nes žmonės apie ją tiesiog nieko nežino. Kadangi šalys privalo aiškiai išreikšti savo valią sudarant sandorį, šiandien toks valios išreiškimas dažniausiai pasireiškia įtvirtinant ją sutartyse. Tačiau sudarius sutartį, neretai šalys atitinkamai veikia, ko pasėkoje siekia pakeisti savo sutartinių santykių turinį, to neįtvirtindami sutarties pagrindu. Todėl natūraliai kyla klausimas – ar toks valios išreiškimas (konkliudentiniais veiksmais) gali lemti tai, jog rašytinės sutarties nuostatos bus pakeistos? Būtent į šį klausimą ir mėginama atsakyti šiame darbe. Siekiant atsakyti į aukščiau įvardytą klausimą, darbe analizuojami sutarties formos reikalavimai nuo pat Romos teisės laikų. Pateikiamas šiandieninis reguliavimas dėl keliamų reikalavimų sutarties formai Anglosaksų ir Kontinentinės tradicijos šalyse, tai lėmusios priežastys ir ateities vizija pagal Troikos (CISG, Unidroit ir PECL principų) reguliavimą. Išsamiai atskleidžiami sutarties formos laisvės bei contrarius actus principai. Daugiausia dėmesio šiame darbe skiriama contrarius actus principo išimčiai, vadinamai Estoppel taisyklei Anglosaksų tisinėje tradicijoje, kurią yra perėmę dauguma Kontinentinės tradicijos šalių, o taip pat ir Troikos reguliavimas. Paskutiniame šio darbo skyriuje analizuojama Lietuvos teisėje įtvirtinta Estoppel taisyklė, kuri yra... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Rome lawyers annotated that only the will or desire of the parties to conclude a contract is not enough, until it is expressed bilateral. In other way the contract would be concluded because parties would not know each other will . Since parties must express their will unequivocal, today they will generally is expressed in written contracts. But sometimes parties after concluding a contract takes some kind of performance expecting that this action will change content of the contract, without amendments established in the contract. This situation brings to light a question – whether these actions can amend content of concluded contract? Exactly this question is observed in this work. With a view to answer above set question, author of this work researches requirements of contract form starting from ancient Rome regulation. Author also overlooks contract form requirements in common law and continental traditions law systems, named regulation reasons and the vision of the future in accordance with the Troika (CISG, Unidroit and PECL principles). Disclosed in details principles of freedom of the contract form and contractus actus. The focus of this work is granted exceptionally about contrarius actus principle exemption which is known as Estoppel rule in common law tradition system, which is also detected in continental tradition law system and Troika. The last chapter of this work analyzes the Estoppel rule in Lithuanian law system and how it is successfully applied in... [to full text]

Globally competitive industries need to keep up with the rigorous technical innovations to ensure that they reach their targets in terms of customer satisfaction. In order to do this, businesses need to ensure that they have the correct skills and capabilities in order to meet their demands. Organisations encounter difficulties as they constantly need to replace lost skills, and once these skills have been replaced, they need to spend additional money to train and equip new employees adequately to perform the jobs that they are employed to do. These days, many companies find themselves in financial turmoil which emerges from large turnover rates. There has been a severe exodus of skilled employees in the utility industry. During the past twelve months, this industry has lost 1 479 critical skills. Scarce skills are expensive to retain and it is important that employee well-being take top priority to keep up with changing labour demographics. This upkeep relates to huge emphasis being placed on customer satisfaction. In order to keep customers happy, companies first need to keep their employees happy. Efforts made by the organisation to improve situational circumstances for its employees, will promote positive individual and organisational outcomes. Two dimensions contribute greatly to a positive employment relationship which is conducive towards promoting positive individual and organisational outcomes, namely a fulfilled psychological contract and fairness in allocating monetary rewards. Money should not be used as a Band-Aid; not everything can be remedied with money. However, money is important, although it is not the most important factor. Fulfilment of the different dimensions of the psychological contract, including, but not limited to opportunities for personal growth and career advancement, and a management-supportive work environment are vital towards establishing and maintaining a positive employment relationship. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of psychological contract breach, job satisfaction and turnover intention in the utility industry and to determine the outcomes thereof. A mixed method approach was used to gather data. In the qualitative study, managers and staff (N = 15) were interviewed and a thematic content analysis was performed. In the second phase of the study, the quantitative part, questionnaires were distributed to employees (N = 251) across all levels of the organisation. The measuring instruments used were the Psychological Contract Inventory, Job Satisfaction Scale and Turnover Intention Scale. The results of Article 1 (Chapter 2) showed that a total of 60% of participants made reference to the importance of money. Emphasis was also placed on other aspects, where 53% of participants made mention of leadership being an important driver of job satisfaction. Other themes also regarded as important toward curbing skills loss were the importance of personal excellence and the need for effective communication as drivers of job satisfaction. Article 2 (Chapter 3) found that a fulfilled balanced psychological contract displayed a strong, positive relationship with job satisfaction and that job satisfaction had a negative impact on turnover intention. These findings support the negative impact of psychological contract breach on job satisfaction and, in relation to this, job dissatisfaction positively impacted turnover intention. It was further found that psychological contract breach of the balanced contract had an indirect positive impact on turnover intent via job satisfaction. Recommendations for future studies were made. / MCom (Labour Relations Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

The thesis deals with the legal institution of assignment of contract from comparative point of view. The core of contract assignment lies in the replacement of a contractual party by a third person during the existence of a contractual relationship. As a new institution in Czech civil law introduced by the Civil Code as of 1. January 2014, the topic has not been sufficiently covered in legal theory and therefore its academic elaboration is highly actual. Before the 1 January 2014, the assignment of contract was not expressly recognised by the Civil Code 1964 or the Commercial Code, however the practice often pointed out the lack of legal regulation and looked for other ways to achieve the replacement of the contractual party. The goal of this thesis is to identify the diversities between the chosen legal regulations and to provide an evaluation of the Czech regulation based on comparison with foreign approaches. Comparison with the Italian civil law concept of cessione del contratto was chosen because of its major influence on other European codifications of contract law including the Civil Code 2012. Other regulations, such as the Civil Code of Netherlands, European Contract Code, Principles of European Contract Law, Draft Common Frame of Reference or UNIDROIT Principles of International...

This thesis aims to discuss the process of concluding contracts resulting from public tender, and its comparison with the draft law on procurement procedures approved by the Czech government. The thesis describes the current legislation on concluding contracts resulting from public tender and its subsequent amendments in three separate chapters. The first chapter briefly defines the basic terminology of the public procurement procedure, which is crucial for the whole process of concluding public procurement contracts. The second chapter deals with selected aspects of conclusion of public procurement contracts in open procedure. These aspects are commencing of tender procedure, boundness of the submission of tender, security, opening of envelopes with submissions, and the selection of the best submission and obligations of public authorities after conclusion of public procurement contract. Chapter three is the most detailed part of the thesis, which deals with changes in public procurement contracts. Chapter three first describes the development of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and then is followed by changes in the subject of public procurement contracts and changes in the contracting parties of public procurement contracts. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

(in English): The final thesis deals with the analysis of selected principles of the Czech and English contract law. The aim of the final thesis was to highlight common and different features of the Czech and English law based on the selected principles and simultaneously to illustrate the differences in legal reasoning between the two countries. The author describes the significance of the English law in the first chapter, followed by the chapter concerning formation of a contract in the Czech and English law. Attention is being paid to an offer, further analysis includes the possibility of revocation of an offer and the different approaches adopted to these problems in the legal frameworks of the Czech Republic and England. The author than proceeds to the description of acceptance of an offer, formation and conclusion of a contract and effectiveness of an acceptance in the case of distance dealing between the parties. Comparison with PECL and UNIDROIT is being made and the author concludes, that both the Czech and English contract law adopt the same solutions for an acceptance and conclusion of a contract, which, however, do not coincide with the rules laid down in PECL and UNIDROIT. Critical assessment of the provisions concerning the offer and acceptance in the Czech Civil Code Bill, which...

RESUME The aim of this thesis is to provide a general description of the purpose, functions and principles governing the right to unilaterally terminate a contract under Czech law. The main part of the thesis provides overview of the provisions of the new Civil Code regarding termination of contract, describing the conditions for termination of the contract, limitations on contractual freedom to agree upon grounds for the termination of the contract, prerequisites of the termination of the contract and the legal consequences to the rights and obligations of the contractual parties following successful termination of the contract. The thesis differentiates between the following generally applicable grounds for the termination of the contract: (i) a material breach of contract; (ii) a breach of contract (whether material or immaterial) constituting delay within the meaning of the new Civil Code, (iii) fulfilment of specific obligation with defects and (iv) anticipatory breach of contract. Each ground for termination is analysed in detail and the overlaps of the specific grounds for termination is identified. The thesis further introduces selected interpretation difficulties connected with the new Civil Code and suggests possible solutions to these issues, taking into account the purpose of the provisions...

The present diploma thesis, entitled: "Support contacts - comparative study". It compares two contract types belonging under the term support contract. These are the maintenance contract and the provision contract. This diploma thesis aims to familiarize the reader with the historical evolution of these law contracts, current law approach to them, but above all clarify what intention and conditions are these contracts made under, and which rights and obligations do they bestow upon the parties. The first and the second chapter briefly introduce into the matters of relative ownership and defining the term annuity contract. Focus is placed on differentiating the relative and absolute ownership, and furthermore on the purposes annuity contracts are used for. The third chapter is a concise look into the term aleatory contracts, the historical classification of the provision contract. It not only briefly explains the history of aleatory contracts; it also outlines the term aleatory contract as it is perceived by present law. The fourth chapter is dedicated to historical excursus. It includes the succinct outline of historical development of both contracts, both the provision and maintenance contracts. The focus is primarily placed upon the legislation in Czech legal orders, not only under ABGB or civil...

This thesis deals with the rights and obligations of parties to consumer contracts, where on the one hand is the consumer and the entrepreneur on the other. The thesis focuses on consumer distance contracts. The rule of law is protecting the consumer as a weaker party, and so the legislation strengthens the consumer's position. This tendency is even more significant for distance contracts, given that the distance nature of contracting may further disadvantage consumers. The thesis is divided into three thematic sections, preceded by definitions of terms that are crucial to the chosen topic of the thesis. The individual thematic sections of the tesis are subsequently: information obligations of entrepreneurs, withdrawal from the contract and rights arising from a defective performance. The first part deals with the various information obligations of the entrepreneur with a division into the information obligations resulting from the Civil Code and then from other legal regulations. The summary of this section is a simple list of mandatory information demonstrated on the model case. The second part is devoted to analyzing a specific institute for consumer distance contracts, namely withdrawal from the contract without giving a reason within a fourteen-day period. The third part defines the rights...

O desenvolvimento da tecnologia e, em especial, da internet, alterou o modo como os indivíduos se relacionam. Como o Direito acompanha o desenvolvimento da humanidade, tem-se que os contratos igualmente foram modificados. A internet passou a ocupar espaço significativo no modus operandi das contratações, que passaram do mundo físico para o mundo eletrônico. Este estudo tem por objetivo verificar os impactos sofridos pelos contratos em decorrência do desenvolvimento da internet. Para tanto, serão abordadas questões relacionadas às características tanto dos contratos em geral quanto dos contratos eletrônicos e à validade desses últimos, trazendo como exemplo no âmbito das contratações eletrônicas o contrato eletrônico de empréstimo bancário. / The development of technology and, specially, of internet, has altered the mechanism through which individuals relate to each other. Given that the Law follows the humanity development, the contracts have been equally modified. Internet started to occupy significant space in the contractual relationship modus operandi, which went from the physical reality to the electronic reality. This study aims at verifying the impacts suffered by the contracts due to the internet development. In this sense, it shall be studied issues relating to the characteristics of contracts in general and electronic contracts and the validity of the latest, referring to the electronic banking loan contracts as an example of electronic contracts.