Editor’s comment
Is the UK Government serious about decarbonising?
Following a highly critical report on the government’s decarbonisation plans for the power sector, Editor Nick Barrett asks whether the government is even serious about achieving its net zero goals.
News
Our round up of major news stories includes a High Court rejection of a judicial review attempt over Sizewell C; more developers signing up to the government’s Developers Remediation Contract; and a review ordered for Homes England.
Legal terms explained
Mike McClure KC and Daniel Waldek of Herbert Smith Freehills LLP explain what is meant by the term ‘Defects Liability Period’.
Opinion
Contractors demand abandonment of bespoke contract in favour of NEC
Transport Scotland has been castigated as the “worst client in the UK” by Scottish contractors. Could abandoning the roads authority’s bespoke contracts in favour of the NEC be the solution?
Legislation state of play table
Our regular update of the progress of legislation and government procurement related developments compiled by Construction Law staff.
Reports from the courts
Our regular round up of the court cases of most interest to construction comes from Andrew Croft and Ben Spannuth of Beale and Company Solicitors LLP, who look at a judgment providing clarification on the use of Part 8 proceedings to resist adjudication enforcement; and another judgment that shows the courts will look to the factual matrix when determining the existence of a common law duty of care.
Book Review
The FAC-1 Framework Alliance Contract: A Handbook by David Mosey
Nia Stewart and Genevieve Vaughan of Burges Salmon review the just published handbook written by David Mosey to be used alongside the FAC-1 Framework Alliance Contract, the ‘Gold Standard’ in framework contracting. They welcome the handbook as an invaluable tool to the contract’s use, and value the real life examples of it in practice.
CL guides
Limitation
Our latest CL Guides series article from Jenny Harrison of DLA Piper examines the basic principles of Limitation and the issues that arise.
Adjudication
Jurisdiction clauses are no shield against adjudication
Phil Caton of Aaron & Partners considers the recent case of Motacus Construction Ltd v Paolo Castelli SpA and analyses whether you can adjudicate with a foreign jurisdiction clause.
Contracts
Loose drafting of ADR clauses creates pitfalls
Xavier Milne and Portia Cox of Herbert Smith Freehills LLP review a court decision that highlights the importance of careful drafting of alternative dispute resolution clauses. Beware of casually adopting ‘boilerplate’ clauses, they warn.
Limitation
Supreme Court spells out the limitations of nuisance
Georgia Whiting and Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk report on a Supreme Court ruling on a major oil spill case that has implications on what the courts will regard as constituting a ‘continued nuisance’ in construction disputes where limitation is important.
Collaboration
Collaborative contracting models – getting Clients ready
Collaborative contracting has great potential to deliver benefits to both clients and their suppliers but, as Anne-Marie Friel of Pinsent Masons LLP argues, failing to approach it properly and making the appropriate investment of time and resources can result in poor outcomes.
Insurance
Expensive cover no belt and braces solution
Insurance expert John D Wright of JD Risk Associates advises that the insured have a responsibility to act as carefully as they would if they had no insurance cover at all. Other responsibilities will mostly be specifically set out in the policy, and strictly complied with.
Alternative dispute resolution
Time for a radical rethink of DR processes: grasp the AI nettle
In our latest Alternative Dispute Resolution series article Tracey Summerell of Dentons UK and Middle East LLP looks at how Artificial Intelligence might impact upon dispute resolution.