General terms
ABK 09 – the industry’s standard agreement
We work mainly under the ABK 09 standard agreement. These terms apply to most of our services and products. Supplementary or entirely different terms may apply to specific services or products, and will be stated in that case.
ABK 09 is the industry’s shared standard agreement, based on extensive negotiations between the parties and endorsed by the principals of the Swedish Construction Contracts Committee (BKK). ABK 09 therefore reasonably safeguards the interests of both consultants and clients.
ABK 09 sets the terms for consulting assignments in architectural and engineering practice, and can be invoked for assignments across all technical fields, from the initial idea stage through to detailed design during the execution phase. Besides design assignments, the provisions can also be used for other types of consulting assignments, such as investigations, project management, construction management, and inspections.
The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR) is one of the members of the Swedish Construction Contracts Committee (BKK) and has represented the interests of municipal clients in drawing up the standard agreement.
The aim has been to shape the provisions in a way that, from an overall industry perspective, serves the interests of both clients and consultants in carrying out consulting assignments in architectural and engineering practice.
ABK 09 is based on a reasonable balance of rights and obligations aimed at an economically optimal allocation of risk between the parties, and regulates, among other things, the consultant’s liability — to which the industry’s insurers have adapted the base scope of professional indemnity insurance.