Monthly Archives: March 2010

REUTERS | Fayaz Kabli
March 31, 2010

March 2010 digest: the Budget and the Scheme for Construction contracts

Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the USA (attributed):

“Nothing is easier than spending the public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody.”

March saw the Government deliver its (final?) Budget. As there was little in the Budget for the construction industry, the reaction to it was muted.

March was also a busy month elsewhere in the construction and engineering world: the draft revised Scheme has finally landed! In other words, the consultation on the proposed amendments to the Scheme for Construction Contracts 1998 was published this month. If they become law, the amendments will affect both adjudication and payment under construction contracts. The amendments follow the changes introduced by Part 8 of the LDEDC Act 2009. They have been eagerly awaited and, if you want to respond, you have until 18 June 2010 to do so. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Mike Blake
March 31, 2010

Contracting with joint ventures

Working on a major infrastructure project recently, I was reminded of the issues that can arise when dealing with contractors undertaking projects on a joint venture (JV) basis. This is an increasingly common approach on large and complex projects (particularly in the roads, tunnelling and power sectors) as contractors look to pool their expertise or simply share risk.

Continue reading →

REUTERS | Pillar Lee
March 30, 2010

Is there a duty of confidentiality in adjudication?

I went to hear Sir Vivian Ramsey speak last week at the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators‘ Annual Master’s Lecture. His talk was called “Open secrets: the concept of confidentiality in dispute resolution”. He focused on the concepts of privacy and confidentiality in arbitration, mediation and the courts, and only mentioned adjudication briefly.

Sir Vivian’s talk got me thinking about whether there is a duty of confidentiality in adjudication and, if there is, where does it come from? Continue reading →

REUTERS | Lisi Niesner
March 26, 2010

Ask the team: I’ve heard there is a new crane register. What do I need to do?

“I have heard that there is a new crane register coming into force. I have a crane erected on a construction site. What do I need to do?”

The tower crane register

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) new tower crane register comes into force on 6 April 2010. It is being introduced by the Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/333). Continue reading →

REUTERS | Arnd Wiegmann
March 24, 2010

NEC is the future, but how does it work in real life?

On 18 March 2010, leading speakers, from the London Olympics to Crossrail, shared their experience of how to make the NEC form work for you.

Here are my highlights from the event:

Introduction: the OGC’s endorsement

The UK government, through the OGC (Office of Government Commerce), has endorsed the use of the NEC3 suite of contracts for public sector procurement. The OGC states that the suite satisfies the Achieving Excellence in Construction criteria. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Christian Charisius
March 23, 2010

Injunctions to stop adjudications; whatever next?

Edwards-Stuart J seems to be making waves in the world of adjudication enforcement since his appointment to the TCC last year. First he severed an adjudicator’s decision, then he appeared to introduce a threshold test into applications to stay enforcement proceedings. Now he has granted an injunction, restraining three companies from pursuing three adjudications that they had started against their former engineer on a project. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Mike Segar
March 16, 2010

When does my jurisdiction begin?

Such an easy question to ask, but how easy is it to answer?

It seems to me that there is no straightforward answer.

An adjudicator is expected to investigate his own jurisdiction when the notice of adjudication is served. It is accepted that he should resign if he concludes he has no jurisdiction to deal with the dispute. An adjudicator may conclude that he has no jurisdiction for a multitude of reasons; over the years parties and the courts have come up with a long list of these. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Ronen Zvulun
March 15, 2010

Contracts of muqawala and decennial liability: a middle eastern perspective

I have been working in our Abu Dhabi office for about a year now. During this time I have come across a number of legal issues in the construction and engineering context that are very different from those we are familiar with in the UK.

This post highlights some of the UAE law issues that parties new to operating in the region should be aware of, including:

  • An outline of the UAE legal framework.
  • An introduction to the UAE Civil Code.
  • The concept of muqawala.
  • Decennial liability. Continue reading →

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