Editor’s comment
Social value a procurement challenge
Editor Nick Barrett asks how assessing social value factors in bids will be handled when the Procurement Bill becomes law.
News
This month’s news roundup includes a look at the long awaited Procurement Bill, plus a warning that claims related to the impacts of the Ukraine crisis are on the rise and a report that highlights significant modern slavery risks in the sector.
Legal terms explained
Valerie Chee and Mathew Shelley of Herbert Smith Freehills LLP explain how performance guarantees and liquidated damages allocate risk in contracts.
Guest editor
The Sky’s the Limit – but how long will that be true?
Guest Editor James Davison of 3PB Barristers bemoans the disproportionality between the amounts in dispute in some low value cases and the legal costs, and asks if the Construction Act, which is starting to feel like a solution to a problem from another time, needs reform
Legislation state of play table
Our regular update on the progress of legislation and other developments affecting construction from News Editor Steve Dale who provides a commentary on the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill.
Reports from the courts
Our regular round up of recent court decisions of most interest to construction comes from Andrew Croft and Ben Spannuth of Beale & Company Solicitors LLP who report on a rare example of the courts refusing enforcement of an adjudicator’s decision; and another that acts as a reminder to ensure that the basis of the pricing and the payment mechanism in a contract is expressed clearly and understood from the outset to avoid later disputes.
Analysis
Sustainability in Construction
Zoe Stollard and Alex Clark of Browne Jacobson report from a Roundtable event involving construction, manufacturing and energy clients that discussed, among other things, best practice in low carbon procurement. Firms must ensure the principles of sustainable construction are not superseded by cost and aesthetics, it was highlighted.
CL guides
FIDIC
The latest in our Construction Guides series comes from Rachel Chaplin of DLA Piper who examines key aspects of the FIDIC suite of contracts.
Adjudication
“What goes without saying…”
Barrister, arbitrator and adjudicator Karen Gough of 39 Essex Chambers London describes the circumstances under which parties to adjudications can refuse to pay adjudicator’s fees, examining a Court of Appeal decision that clarifies adjudicators’ entitlement to payment on resignation for grounds not expressly dealt with in the Act or Scheme.
When a frolic becomes unfair
Barry Hembling of Watson, Farley & Williams LLP analyses two recent adjudication related judgements with implications for when a decision can be set aside on natural justice grounds. Have they provided more questions than answers?
Legislation
Building Safety Act 2022
Christopher Leadbetter, Sharni Mellors, and Iain Boyle of Clyde & Co provide an overview of the main features of the Building Safety Act, the largest ever statutory intervention in the construction industry. New obligations will impact almost all levels of the construction and development industries, they say.
Contracts
Climate clauses for construction contracts
A group of construction professionals, including lawyers, has taken a pro bono initiative to draft contract clauses to support the climate change battle. Leonie Brabant and Josh van den Dries of the Chancery Lane Project outlines the clauses and invites industry support for further related developments.
Insurance
Practical Completion – the elephant in the room
Insurance expert John D Wright of JD Risk Associates examines the insurance implications of practical completion. Liabilities for liquidated damages end with practical completion, but this can throw up difficulties, he warns.
Alternative dispute resolution
Disputes of the future?
Tracey Summerell of Dentons UK and Middle East reports from a disputes conference in our latest alternative dispute resolution series article. Sustainability and human rights will increasingly feature in contracts, it is clear.