Editor’s comment
Arbitration market share under threat
Editor Nick Barrett examines moves to help secure London’s place as a leading international arbitration centre. Will they be enough?
News
Our regular news round up reports on new arbitration rules from the ICC; a new standard designed to combat bribery; and an attack on open tenders for unsustainably escalating bidding costs.
Legal terms explained
Rebecca Boyle of Pinsent Masons explains the meaning of betterment.
Guest editor
Is Lulu something to ‘Shout’ about?
Guest editor Anthony Willis of DLA Piper foresees revived attention being given to the apparent conflict between late payments legislation and the Construction Act following a recent TCC case.
Legislation state of play table
Our regular update on the progress of legislation affecting construction as it passes through the UK and EU legislative systems comes from Clyde & Co LLP. Richard Kniveton and Andrew Primett provide a commentary on the National Infrastructure Commission becoming an Executive Agency.
Reports from the courts
Our regular reports of the court cases of most interest to construction from Andrew Croft and Simii Sivapalan of Beale & Company Solicitors LLP, including a case involving the NEC3 sub-contract and a breach of natural justice; and one that again highlights that an adjudicator’s decision can be upheld regardless of errors of fact or law.
Contracts monitor
Don’t trip over your footnotes
Contracts monitor Michael Phipps, Principal of Thurston Consultants, begins his scrutiny of the new version of the JCT Minor Works Building Contract. Much useful detail is revealed in footnotes, so be careful not to miss them, he urges.
Litigation
No get out of jail free card
Concurrent delay issues seldom arise but cause complex debate when they do. Michael Sharp and Emma Kurtovich of Herbert Smith Freehills analyse a recent case showing the importance of establishing causation.
Expert witnesses
Expert evidence and construction claims
Digby Hebbard and Douglas Simpson of Fladgate LLP take an overview of the role of expert witnesses in construction disputes, providing practical advice on their selection and management. Neglect of either of these could be costly.
Payments
Court clamps down on ‘smash and grab’
Akin Akinbode and Krystal Williams of Dentons discuss key cases that provide lessons in respect of the payment process. Smash and grab approaches will not always work, they warn.
Adjudication
Oral contracts and oral variations
Oral contracts, part-oral contracts and variations can throw up difficult issues for adjudicators, raising the prospect of jurisdictional challenge when the existence of a contract is disputed. Frances Garratt of CMS explains the lessons to be learned from recent cases.
Insurance
Risks of occurrence in liability insurance
Insurance expert John D Wright of JD Risk Associates examines potential pitfalls from using words in policies that can have alternative meanings. Even the meaning of a word like ‘occurrence’ can be disputed.
Contracts
Whose plant is it anyway?
Inconsistent provisions in contracts frequently bedevil the question of who owns goods like construction plant on site. Catherine Piercy and Aileen McErlean of Hardwicke Chambers urge close attention along the supply chain to who actually has title.
Alternative dispute resolution
Adjudicating a final account
Our latest alternative dispute resolution series article from Chris Leadbetter of Clyde & Co examines an important court ruling affecting adjudication.