NATO AACP-2 VOL 1

Abstract

<u>INTRODUCTION</u> <br>1. The Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) invited the NATO Group on Acquisition Practices (AC/313) to develop contracting guidelines which would assist contracting efforts undertaken in the framework of NATO co-operative programmes. <br>2. The attached guidelines have been established to respond to the task assigned by the CNAD. They take account, as far as possible, of the views which have been expressed by industry, during a series of joint meetings between the AC/313 Group and representatives of the NATO Industrial Advisory Group (NIAG). <br>3. In some NATO co-operative programmes, a management structure is used whereby one of the participating nations performs the procurement function on behalf of all participants. In such cases, that nation normally adheres to its national procurement laws and regulations. Although national practices may, in certain circumstances, be required to be waived to accommodate NATO requirements, mandatory national statutes must be respected. Nevertheless, the majority of contract clauses are subject to discussion and acceptance between the buyer and seller with regard to the type of procurement, the type of contract being negotiated and the best interests of NATO and its member states. <br>4. These guidelines are built, to a certain extent, upon previous documents and publications which are referenced herein. They contain for each contractual term, wherever practicable, both a note of the key features or principles and a sample clause. It is stressed that the sample clauses are not "standard clauses" but are intended to serve as basic material to assist these negotiating particular contracts in devising terms appropriate to the individual case. <br>5. Not all of the contractual provisions which might arise in a collaborative programme have been covered in the guidelines. For example, while the scale of feasibility study work may not of itself call for performance guarantees, the latter may well become an important aspect, particularly where industrial consortium or "teaming" applies in subsequent phases including the need for guarantees on a "joint and "several" basis, i.e. cross-guarantees between industrial partners. Likewise, in the vpost- feasibility study phases, as particular programmes gather momentum, greater sophistication may be called for in the pricing arrangements and the treatment of intellectual property for individual contracts.