Editor’s comment
Straws worth clutching at
The Covid-19 pandemic has darkened the economic outlook but Editor Nick Barrett notes that forecasters are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. A sea change in construction productivity is now needed but that needs a sea change in the industry’s mindset, say commentators.

News
Our monthly news roundup includes a Supreme Court ruling which has implications for adjudications in construction, a warning that plummeting productivity on sites will lead to more disputes, and details of a new culpable homicide bill introduced to the Scottish Parliament.

Legal terms explained
Lucinda Hill and Kate O’Callaghan of Herbert Smith Freehills LLP explain the meaning of force majeure.

Guest editor
Hard cases make bad contracts
Guest Editor Karen Kirkham of BDB Pitmans LLP says allowing rare and unforeseen events to shape contracts can create excessive risk for contractors which employers will have to pay for. Crisis driven amendments miss targets and can make matters worse, she argues.

Legislation state of play table
Dentons UK and Middle East LLP provide our regular round up of legislation affecting the UK as it passes through the legislative process. Tracey Summerell comments on calls for construction to support the move towards ‘Digital Britain’.

Reports from the courts
Our regular round up of the court decisions of most relevance to construction comes from Andrew Croft and Ben Spannuth of Beale & Company Solicitors LLP who focus on a case confirming that an adjudicator’s award or court judgment is needed before an established or ascertained bond can be called; and another which, although not a construction case, highlights the importance of clear drafting of exclusion clauses.

Analysis
Storm Covid blows through the wind industry
How Covid-19 is impacting on one construction market – the wind industry – is analysed by Edward Stewart, Natalie Wardle, Colleen Galbraith and Kimberly Roberts of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, who focus on what reliefs may be available under FIDIC Silver Book 1999 edition.

CL guides
Engineer, Procure and Construct contracts
In our latest CL Guides series article Harriet Farrant from DLA Piper explains how Engineer, Procure and Construct contracts work.

Delay
Delay & Disruption from Covid-19
Many companies will be relying on force majeure clauses to bail them out of Covid-19 induced problems, but some parties to contracts will be left ‘in a hole’, unable to claim reliefs or terminate onerous contracts warns Stuart Jordan of Baker Botts.

Change in law
Covid-19 and Change in Law
Contractors throughout the UK are grappling with the delays, costs and disruption caused by Covid-1 and looking to force majeure for relief. Nick Viljoen of HFW suggests that one less considered avenue for relief may be to claim that new Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures amount to either a Change in Law or a variation.

Technology
Covid – A Catalyst for Change?
Duncan Turner and Amy Roberts of CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP examine how new technologies could help the industry grapple with the immediate problems associated with a return to work post the Covid-19 shutdown. New technologies can throw up new legal challenges as well, they warn.

Contract termination
To terminate or not to terminate, that is the question
Chris Bryden and Georgia Whiting of 4 King’s Bench Walk explain how common law can support termination of a contract that does not have an express termination clause. However, there are risks associated with using the repudiatory breach strategy, they warn.

Insurance
Covid-19 – The Insurance Implications
Insurance expert John D Wright of JD Risk Associates outlines the insurance implications of Covid-19, warning that there may not be a lot the insurance industry can do to alleviate the financial pain inflicted by the pandemic. For the future, a pooling scheme might have to be launched and government backing will be essential.

Alternative dispute resolution
Good behaviour: going the extra mile
In our latest alternative dispute resolution (ADR) series, Tracey Summerell of Dentons UK and Middle East LLP considers the government’s call for good behaviour by parties to construction contracts and what that means in practice for those battling the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.