A business contract for construction: on the admissibility of the theoretical model and principal directions for its study

This paper raises the problem of the legal status of business contracts in construction industry. The author outlines basic theoretical approaches aimed to define the concept of business contract and exposes their shortcomings. The author proves that a business contract should not be regarded as a normal variation of a civil contract. With regard to business contracts in construction industry the author concludes that such a contract can be considered as a theoretical model which presents a general category of research and which is not formalized in legislative regulations as a separate type of contract. The value of this model may lie in the fact that it allows us to summarize the existing knowledge about the application of civil law contracts in construction industry and to point out significant elements of business contracts which should be taken into account by the legislator. In the study of the business contract the attention should be focused not on specific elements of a certain industry which influence the formation of legal norms, but on the peculiarities of contractual relationships between entrepreneurs. These peculiarities can be found and analyzed if the following criterion is researched: the limits of government intervention in the private sector. Reasonable limits of government intervention in the private sector should, on the one hand, ensure reasonable balance of interests of entrepreneurs, and, on the other hand, protect interests of consumers of construction product. The reason for this is that construction relationships are influenced by both private and public interests. At the same time, the limits of state intervention in the private sector should be balanced with the restrictions on freedom in business contracts in the construction industry.