Provision of Materials Article 683

1. A contractor’s obligation may be confined to performing the agreed work, provided that the work owner supplies the required materials.

2. The contractor may also undertake to provide all or some of the materials besides performing the work.

Article 684

1. If the contractor undertakes to supply all or some of the materials required for work, such materials shall conform to the agreed specifications. If no specifications are agreed upon, they shall serve the intended purpose.

2. The contractor shall guarantee the defects such materials may develop in accordance with the provisions on guaranteeing the defects of sold objects.

Article 685

If materials are supplied by the work owner, the contractor shall use ordinary care to protect them and use them in conformity with technical standards and submit an account of the parts he has used and return remaining to the work owner.

If the material or some of them become unfit for use due to the neglect of his technical inability, he shall refund the value of the unfit materials to the work owner.

Article 686

1. If during the performance of work defects occur or develop in the materials supplied by the work owner, or if other factors hinder the performance of work in suitable conditions, the contractor shall notify the work owner to that effect.

2. If the contractor neglects such notification, he shall be responsible for the consequences of his neglect.

Second: Contractor’s Obligations Article 687

1. The contractor shall perform the work according to the conditions of the contract agreement within the agreed period. If no conditions or period is agreed, the contractor shall perform the work according to the generally accepted standards within a reasonable period as required by the nature of work with due observance to the usage of workmanship.

2. The contractor shall also provide at his expense the any labor, tools and equipment required for performing the work unless otherwise stipulated by the agreement or usage.

Article 688

If during the progress of work it is established that the contractor is performing the work defectively or contrarily to the contract, the work owner may warm him to correct the method of execution within a reasonable period he defines for the contractor. If this period expires and the contractor fails to use the right method, the work owner may then request abrogating the contract or obtain a judicial authorization to execute the work at the contractor’s expense if the nature of work so permits.

Abrogating the contract may be requested without notice or fixing a time limit for correction if correcting the defect or violation is impossible.

In all cases, the judge may reject the abrogation request if the execution defect is not likely to greatly reduce the value of work or its fitness for the intended use without prejudice to the right to compensation if necessary.

Article 689

If the contractor delays commencing the execution of work or completing it to an extent that he is not expected at all to complete it within the agreed period or if he resorts to a course of action indicating that he does not intend to fulfill his obligation or commits an act liable to render the fulfillment of such obligation impossible, the work owner may request abrogating the contract without waiting for the term fixed for delivery to fall due.

Article 690

If the object is lost or damaged due to a sudden accident or force majeur before being delivered to the work owner, the contractor may not claim the agreed charge or the value of the materials he has supplied unless at the time of loss or damage the work owner is not in breach of his obligation in respect of delivering the work.

Article 691

1. If the materials supplied by the work owner are lost or damaged before delivery to the contractor due to a sudden accident or force majeur, the work owner may not claim the value of such materials from the contractor unless at the time of loss or damage the contractor is in breach of his obligation in respect of delivering the work and unless the contractor proves that the object would have been lost or damaged in the possession of the work owner if he had delivered to the contractor.

2. Work materials shall be considered to have been supplied by the work owner if he has paid the value of such materials to the contractor or paid him an advance payment including such value.

Third: Obligations of the Work Owner Article 292

1. If the performance of work requires the work owner to take a particular action that he fails to take in time, the contractor may assign him to take such action within a reasonable time limit.

2. Is the time limit expires without such action having been taken by the work owner, the contractor may request abrogating the contract without prejudice to his right to compensation if required.

Article 693

Once the contractor completes his work and places it at the disposal of the work owner, the latter shall promptly receive the work according to familiar dealings. If the work owner refuses to receive the work without legal causes after being served an official warning, the work shall be considered to have actually been delivered to him.

Article 694

1. The work owner may refrain from taking over the work if the work is so defective or contrary to conditions that it is inadequate for the intended purpose.

2. If the defect or violation does not reach that gross extent, the work owner may either only request reducing the dues of the contractor to the extent proportionate to the importance of the defect or violation or force the contractor to repair the same within a reasonable time limit he determines if such repair is possible and does not require exorbitant costs.

3. In all cases, the contractor may carry out the repair within a reasonable period if the repair is possible and does not cause valuable costs to the work owner.

Article 695

The work owner may not insist on the rights prescribed by the preceding article if he is responsible for causing the defect whether by issuing orders contradicting the contractor’s opinion or otherwise.

Article 396

1. Once the work is taken over actually or by a judgment, the contractor shall not be responsible for any apparent defect of the work or any violation of the contract conditions.

2. If defects or violations are hidden and then they are discovered by the work owner after takeover, he shall promptly notify them to the contractor in conformity of professional usage or he shall be considered to have accepted the work.

Article 697

The work owner shall pay the contractor’s dues when he receives the work unless otherwise stipulated by agreement or usage.

Article 698

1. If the work is composed of distinctive parts or the price is fixed by the unit price, each of the contracting parties may perform an inspection following the completion of each part or section that is sufficiently significant for the aggregate work. The contractor may in such case charge a portion of his dues proportionate to the work he has performed unless otherwise agreed.

2. In respect of the part of works for which the contractor’s dues have been paid, it shall be presumed that such part has been inspected and accepted unless it is proved the amount has been paid an advance payment.

Article 699

If the contractor’s dues have not been agreed upon, they shall be determined by reference to a similar value of work at the time of signing the contract and the value of the materials supplied by the contractor and required by the work.

Article 700

In accordance with the provisions of clause 2 of Article 171, the rise in the prices of primary materials or the wages of labor and other costs shall have no effect on the obligations resulting from the contract.

Fourth: Subcontracts Article 701

1. The contractor may delegate the execution of work in whole or in part to a subcontractor if no condition in the contract prevents him, or if the contractor’s character is not essential according to the nature of work.

2. However, the original contractor shall remain responsible for his obligations and the works of the subcontractor before the work owner.

Article 702

The subcontractor and the workers working for the original contractor for carrying out the work shall have the right to claim from the work owner directly the payment of no more than the amount for which he is indebted to the original contractor from the time of initiating the action. The workers of the subcontractors shall have a similar right vis-à-vis both of the original contractor and the work owner.

In case a garnishment is levied by any one of the workers in the hand of the work owner or the original contractor, the workers shall have a lien on the amounts due to the original contractor or the subcontractor at the time of levying the garnishment. Workers shall be entitled to such lien in proportion to their respective amounts which may be paid directly to them.

The rights of the subcontractor and workers as prescribed by virtue of this article shall have precedence over the rights of the person to whom the contractor assigns his rights in respect of the work owner.

Fifth: Termination of the Contract Agreement Article 703

If the contract agreement requires the contractor to carry out maintenance for something or other renewable works within a specified period, the contract agreement shall expire with the lapse of such period.

Article 704

The contract agreement shall terminate if it becomes impossible to perform the agreed work for any reason beyond the control of either party, in which case the contractor shall have the right to claim from the work owner any amounts he has spent and any charge he is entitled to within the limits of the benefit gained by the work owner.

Article 705

The contract agreement shall expire with the decease of the contractor, if his personal qualifications or capabilities were taken into consideration at the time of signing the contract. If they were not, the contract shall not terminate spontaneously, but the work owner may request rescinding it if the successors of the contractor do not fulfill adequate guarantees for the proper execution of the work.

Article 706

1. If the contract agreement terminates with the death of the contractor, his successors shall be entitled to the value of the works performed and the expenses the contractor has incurred for the works that have been performed yet to the extent of the benefit gained by the work owner from such works or expenses.

2. The work owner may request delivering the other materials prepared and the drawings the execution of which is started provided that he pays fair consideration.

3. These provisions shall also apply if the contractor has started executing the work and becomes unable to complete it afterwards due to a reason independent of his will.

Article 707

1. The work owner may disengage himself from the contract and discontinue executing the contract at any time before completing it, provided that he indemnifies the contractor for all the expenses he has incurred, and the works he has accomplished, as well as the gain the contractor would have realized had he completed the work.

2. However, the court may reduce the indemnification due for the gain the contractor has lost, if conditions render such reduction equitable.

The court shall in particular deduct from the compensation the portion saved by the contractor as a result of the work owner's disengagement from the contract, and the gain he might have earned from using his time for another work.

Section II – Provisions Relating to Building and Construction