Skip to main content

Office of General Counsel

UFV/Office of General Counsel/Contracts

Contracts

In order to protect the interests of the university, UFV’s signing officers must undertake appropriate due diligence assessments prior to entering into contracts. This due diligence includes including consulting with the Office of General Counsel prior to signing a contract.

Role of the Office of General Counsel

The Office of General Counsel focuses on conducting a legal review of each contract. This involves considering legal consequences of UFV entering into an agreement. For example, a legal review would involve considering issues like privacy, intellectual property, termination rights, limitation of liability and which jurisdiction’s laws govern the agreement.

In addition, the Office of General Counsel reviews insurance and indemnity provisions. In accordance with the Financial Administration Act, we must obtain approval of the Risk Management Branch of the Ministry of Finance before entering into agreements with indemnities. Depending on the nature of the indemnity and the complexity of the matter, it could take days or weeks to obtain indemnity approval. The Office of General Counsel liaises with the Risk Management Branch on insurance and indemnity issues relating to contracts.

Role of Signing Officer

The signing officer is responsible for considering business terms of the contract such as price, timelines, operational impact of the contract and the description of the services to be provided. In accordance with the UFV’s Signing Authority Policy and Procedures, "persons that have been granted authority to enter into agreements on behalf of UFV are responsible to ensure that:

  • The university has the ability to meet the obligations being made and the other party(ies) are reasonably likely to meet theirs;
  • The agreement complies with the laws and trade agreements of Canada and British Columbia;
  • The appropriate level of review and approval has been obtained from stakeholders;
  • The financial and other benefits or liability of the university relating to the document have been considered and are reasonable and manageable;
  • Required levels of legal, risk management, procurement, financial and other required due diligence has been performed and risks disclosed;
  • Any intellectual property matters have been properly considered in accordance with the university’s policies and collective agreements; and
  • Any agreement is consistent with the university’s strategic plans and budget, collective agreements, policies and the mandate, values and commitments."

Timelines for contract review 

In order to provide sufficient time to complete the contract review, contract negotiation and indemnity approval process, please submit contracts to the Office of General counsel at least three (3) weeks before you require the contract. There are some more complex contracts that will likely take more than three (3) weeks to review (e.g. such as construction contracts, complex research agreements, and information technology contracts).

Authority to enter into contracts on behalf of UFV

View or download UFV’s Signing Authority Policy and Signing Authority Procedures.

If you have any questions regarding signing/spending authority and the policy, please contact your Financial Analyst & Liaison or contact finance.liaisons@ufv.ca.

If there are changes or additions to your current departmental signing authorization, please visit the Financial Services website to obtain the Signing Authority form.