Branch of Foreign Construction Company
As recognition of the construction industries' significance to the Libyan reconstruction, the Ministry of Economics’ decree no. 207 of 2012, granted the foreign construction sector the right to open a direct branch. A branch of a foreign construction company means that the shares of the company are totally owned by the mother company. The only restriction is that a manager of Libyan branch, or his deputy, must be a Libyan citizen. As a result the Libyan Government is hoping that it will experience a phenomenal growth in all areas of the construction sector.
Libyan Law for Contractors and Supervising Architects (or Supervising Engineer):
The Libyan Civil Transactions Code of 1953 imposes liabilities on both the contractor and the architect. Article 650 of the Civil Code holds the contractor and the architect (or supervising engineer) jointly liable for any minor or major collapse of the building even if the collapse was due to ground defects and/or the building had been approved and accepted by the owner. The contractor and the architect are also jointly liable for major defects affecting the stability and safety of a structure. The guarantee period to be provided by the contractor and the architect lasts for 10 years from the date of completion and handling over to the owner.
However, the architect’s liability could be limited to drawing and design errors under Article 651 of the Civil Transactions Code as long as the architect’s scope of work was only to provide the design and not to supervise the implementation of the design. Any clause exempting the contractor and the architect from their liabilities shall be void.
