Orion Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 When a solicitation lists the contract clauses (Section I) to be incorporated into the contract does this mean only these clauses are enforced? During the performance of work can a contractor respond to the Contracting Officer citing a clause not listed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 . Not only are they the only clauses enforced, they are the only clauses in the contract. I get the feeling that there's a clause not in the contract that is in the FAR that you wish was in the contract. Sorry, no dice. If you were under the impression that all FAR clauses apply in every case, then let me point out that some clauses actually contradict each other. For example, depending of the type of contract, and who the contractor is, there are several different choices of clauses for how government property is managed. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buyerman Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Do be careful of the Christian Doctrine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy_Contracting_4 Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 "...can a contractor respond to the Contracting Officer ..." What kind of communication from the Contracting Officer are you responding to? When you communicate to the Contracting Officer, you may certainly cite any section or clause in the FAR that you choose, but if the clause is not in your contract, it may not be relevant to the discussion, and the Contracting Officer may choose to ignore it. The purpose of your citing it, and its relevance to the issue, will likely govern whether the Contracting Officer gives any weight to the citation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buyerman Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Also, clauses maybe added or updated in an amendment or modification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Mansfield Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 .Not only are they the only clauses enforced, they are the only clauses in the contract. I get the feeling that there's a clause not in the contract that is in the FAR that you wish was in the contract. Sorry, no dice. If you were under the impression that all FAR clauses apply in every case, then let me point out that some clauses actually contradict each other. For example, depending of the type of contract, and who the contractor is, there are several different choices of clauses for how government property is managed. . brian, What if the the Termination for Convenience clause was not in the contract? Does that mean that the Government could not terminate for convenience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted May 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 .Not only are they the only clauses enforced, they are the only clauses in the contract. I get the feeling that there's a clause not in the contract that is in the FAR that you wish was in the contract. Sorry, no dice. If you were under the impression that all FAR clauses apply in every case, then let me point out that some clauses actually contradict each other. For example, depending of the type of contract, and who the contractor is, there are several different choices of clauses for how government property is managed. . brian, you are correct in that the clause is not in the contract...and I wish it were. However, I cannot believe any KO would have the time to include ALL the relevant FAR clauses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted May 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 "...can a contractor respond to the Contracting Officer ..."What kind of communication from the Contracting Officer are you responding to? The KO's position is there contract is with the prime not me and therefore I am not privy to the status of the settlement proposal. When you communicate to the Contracting Officer, you may certainly cite any section or clause in the FAR that you choose, but if the clause is not in your contract, it may not be relevant to the discussion, and the Contracting Officer may choose to ignore it. The purpose of your citing it, and its relevance to the issue, will likely govern whether the Contracting Officer gives any weight to the citation. The FAR clause is certainly relevant to the issue, it's just not included in Section I of the Contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted May 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 brian,What if the the Termination for Convenience clause was not in the contract? Does that mean that the Government could not terminate for convenience? Very interesting question, but wouldn't the KO issue a unilateral mod to include it if it were left out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formerfed Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Very interesting question, but wouldn't the KO issue a unilateral mod to include it if it were left out? No, Contracting Officer's cannot unilaterally add clauses via a contract modification. Unilateral mods can only be issued under limited circumstances such as using the "Changes" clause or exercise of an option. Otherwise both parties (the contractor and the Contracting Officer) must agree to changes via a supplemental agreement. You wrote "However, I cannot believe any KO would have the time to include ALL the relevant FAR clauses." First of all it's their job. Second it's not as difficult as it seems. The matrix in the FAR makes it a lot easier than starting from scratch. Finally most agencies have contract writing software tools so that a knowledgable and proficient person van assemble a contract with the standard required clauses in a couple of hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vbus Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 However, I cannot believe any KO would have the time to include ALL the relevant FAR clauses. They better have the time! Just as Formerfed says, it's a CO's job to make sure all relevant FAR clauses go in a contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 . I assume now that Orion posted this question concerning FAR 32.112-1. They posted another question that specifically mentioned this clause. When I gave an opinion above, I thought that the questioner was referring to a clause / provision from Part 52. I was wrong. My answer above is withdrawn. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Mansfield Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 Very interesting question, but wouldn't the KO issue a unilateral mod to include it if it were left out? Orion, Read this: http://www.certifiedksolutions.com/blog/?p=102 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vern Edwards Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Don, How does that blog answer Orion's question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Mansfield Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Vern, Orion's response to my question ("That's an interesting question...") shows that he doesn't seem to be aware of the Christian Doctrine, which is why I provided him the link. The link wasn't supposed to answer his question about whether clauses could be added unilaterally. formerfed already answered that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted May 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 Vern,Orion's response to my question ("That's an interesting question...") shows that he doesn't seem to be aware of the Christian Doctrine, which is why I provided him the link. The link wasn't supposed to answer his question about whether clauses could be added unilaterally. formerfed already answered that. The link that Don Acquisition provided regarding The Christian Doctrine was very good. Now the question is does Clause 32.112 meet the two standards required by the doctrine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vern Edwards Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 The link that Don Acquisition provided regarding The Christian Doctrine was very good. Now the question is does Clause 32.112 meet the two standards required by the doctrine? FAR 32.112 is not a clause, and the Christian Doctrine does not apply to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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