Liability for Construction Works under the Macedonian Law

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of the contractual and non-contractual liability related to construction works in the Macedonian law. It analyses the regime as set in the Law on Obligations and the Law on Construction. The Law on Obligations defines the rights and the obligations of the parties to the contract, among which special attention is paid to the liability for defects. Law on Construction defines specific obligations of the participants in the construction process. Therefore the author reviews the cases of liability of non-performance or defective performance of the contract and the specificities of the liability for the defects of the construction and liability for essential requirements of a construction. In regard to the first issue the author provides for the general rules of the liability for non-performance and the defective performance of the contracts under the Macedonian legislation. In regard to the liability for the defects of the construction the legislation provides, thus the author analyses the special and general rules for the liability. Namely, in the case of defects the liability is governed both by the special provisions of the Law on Obligations regulating the construction contract and the general provisions regulating the contract for services. The Macedonian legislation, further regulates the liability for defects in the construction which relate to the fulfilment of essential legally prescribed requirements for a construction and defects of the land where the construction was erected, so the author examines the conditions for liability of each of the (potentially) liable persons and the possibilities for the limitation and the exclusion of the liability. The author also examines the non-contractual liability for damage arising out of construction from the perspective of the liable person(s) and the conditions for liability which under the Macedonian legislation is a strict liability. The article reviews how this liability is connected to the liability under the construction contract. The article also provides for a review of the remedies available under the national legislation in the cases of liability for construction works and construction.