Contract Governance Starts Before the Claim
FIDIC Clause 20 is often read as a claims clause. In practice, it is a governance clause. Its role is not only to support a claim once the dispute is already visible — its role is to preserve the contractual position before the project team fully understands the extent of the impact. That is where many contractors become exposed. Not because the event was irrelevant. Not because the delay was not real. Not because the cost impact did not exist. But because the contractual clock started before the organisation reacted. Clause 20 matters because timing can decide whether an entitlement remains available — or whether it has already been lost.
NOTICE — The first control over entitlement
Most projects do not fail to notify because the contract is unknown. They fail because the project is moving. The site team is protecting progress. The commercial team is waiting for clearer impact. The planning team is still assessing delay. Management is trying to avoid escalation. The client relationship is being preserved. All of this may be understandable operationally. But the contract does not wait for internal alignment.
Once an event occurs, the first question is not whether the impact is fully quantified. The first question is whether the right to claim has been preserved. A notice is not a dispute. A notice is protection.
AWARENESS — Internal knowledge is not contractual protection
One of the most common mistakes in complex projects is assuming that because an issue is known, the contractual position is protected. It may be discussed in meetings. It may appear in correspondence. It may be recorded in reports. It may be acknowledged by the Engineer, the Employer, or the project team. But awareness is not always the same as valid contractual notice.
Under FIDIC, procedure matters. Who gives notice matters. When it is given matters. How it is framed matters. Which clause it refers to matters. How it is followed up matters. This is why Clause 20 cannot be treated as an administrative task to be cleaned up later. Later may already be too late.
DELAY — The risk is usually quiet at the beginning
The most dangerous project events rarely look catastrophic on day one. An instruction appears manageable. A delay looks recoverable. A design clarification seems temporary. Access restrictions appear short-term. A late approval looks absorbable. A procurement issue looks isolated. But projects do not deteriorate only through major shocks — they often deteriorate through accumulation. A small delay affects sequencing. Sequencing affects productivity. Productivity affects subcontractors. Subcontractors affect programme. Programme affects cost, cash flow, and completion.
By the time the full impact becomes visible, the notice period may already have expired. At that point, the discussion changes. It is no longer only "Was the contractor affected?" It becomes "Was the contractor still entitled to pursue the claim?" That is a very different conversation.
GOVERNANCE — Clause 20 belongs in the project control system
Clause 20 should not sit only with the claims team. It belongs in the live governance of the project. It connects site management, planning, commercial control, contract administration, correspondence, and leadership decision-making. A disciplined project does not wait until the claim is fully developed before protecting its position. It identifies trigger events early. It escalates them quickly. It records the facts properly. It issues notices within time. It tracks the issue after notice. It keeps the contractual position alive while the facts continue to develop.
This is not bureaucracy. It is control. Without this discipline, the project relies on memory, informal understanding, delayed escalation, and commercial hope — none of which are reliable governance mechanisms.
LEADERSHIP — Notices require permission, not hesitation
There is also a leadership issue. In many projects, notices are delayed because teams fear they will be interpreted as aggressive. That is a misunderstanding. A notice does not need to damage the relationship. A poorly managed dispute can damage the relationship. A surprise claim can damage the relationship. A late escalation can damage the relationship. A lack of transparency can damage the relationship. But a timely, professional notice is a normal part of contract administration.
It says: an event has occurred. It may affect time, cost, or entitlement. The contractual position is being preserved. The facts will continue to be assessed. That is not confrontation. That is discipline.
CONTRACT POSITION — Rights are preserved before they are argued
The strongest contractual position is not created at the end of the project. It is preserved during the project — before the final account, before the dispute, before the negotiation, before the claim submission, before the full impact is even known. Clause 20 matters because it forces the project to act while the position can still be protected. This is why it is not just a claims mechanism. It is a live control over contractual exposure.
The lesson is simple: understanding Clause 20 too late does not stop the clock. Miss the notice period, and the contractual rights may already be gone.
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