PENALTY CLAUSE IN CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT

Stranki v obligacijskih razmerjih prosto urejata obligacijska razmerja, ne smeta pa jih urejati v nasprotju z ustavo, prisilnimi predpisi ali moralnimi načeli (3. člen OZ). To velja tudi pri sklepanju gradbene pogodbe. Z gradbeno pogodbo stranki določita pravice in obveznosti, ki sta jih po načelu pacta sunt servanda dolžni izpolniti. Če temu ni tako, obstajajo ustrezne zakonske sankcije (jamčevalni zahtevki). Vendar stranki želita velikokrat ravnati preventivno, torej želita z dodatno obveznostjo poskrbeti, da do kršitev sploh ne bi prišlo. Tukaj nastopi uporabnost pogodbene kazni kot instituta zavarovanja oziroma utrditve obveznosti. Sama pogodbena kazen kot taka sicer ne zagotavlja, da pogodba ne bo kršena, vendar k temu izrecno teži. Skladno z načelom dispozitivnosti gre za dispozitiven (neobvezen) institut oziroma sestavino gradbene pogodbe. Že sama pogodbena kazen, kot tudi gradbena pogodba, sta eni zahtevnejših institutov obligacijskega prava. V upoštevanju obeh skupaj pa sploh prihaja do specifičnih situacij, ki jih bom obravnavala v nadaljevanju.Parties in contractual obligations are free to define their legal relation the way they want to. The only restriction to the principal of free regulation of contractual obligations are the fundamental principles and rights enshrined in the constitution, compulsory rules and moral principles. This also applies to conclusion of construction contract. Construction contract defines rights and duties of contractual parties. Contractual parties are according to pacta sunt servanda principle bound to comply with legal relationship created with the contract. If one party fails to comply with its duties, the law provides sanctions, such as indemnification claims. Some parties prefer to avoid sanctions, provided by the law, and rather create their own, also to prevent any breach of contract. Then the aim of parties is to secure their obligation to a point, that the breach of contract would not occure. This is where penalty clause, as a legal construct of consolidation and insurance of rights and duties, finds its use. Penalty clause per se does not guarantee that there will not be any breach of contract, but it explicitly aspires to achieve that. Penalty clause is a legal construct, created in accordance with the principle of optionality, which consequently also means that it is an optional element of construction contract. Both, penalty clause and construction contract, are one of more complex legal constructions of civil law. Taking into account the complexity of both legal constructions, it is no surprise that in case when parties agree to penalty clause in construction contract, it may result in various specific situations, about which I will write hereinafter