Last month I attended the FIDIC International Contract Users’ Conference in London, two years after the formal launch of the 2017 Red, Yellow and Silver Books. I wanted to find out whether anyone was using them and if so, what did they think? In my blog following the 2017 launch, I made some initial observations. In this blog post, I consider how far these hold true. Continue reading
On 5 December 2019, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in Manchikalapati and others v Zurich Insurance plc and East West Insurance Company Ltd. The underlying case concerned a large block of flats in Manchester that were seriously defective.
There are a number of lessons to learn from the Court of Appeal proceedings and much that is of use for construction and insurance practitioners alike.
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First things first, Happy New Year to you all.
The case I want to talk to you about this week is ISG Construction Ltd v English Architectural Glazing Ltd, which was handed-down by HHJ Stephen Davies in December 2019. Those of you already aware of the case will know that it concerns ISG’s Part 8 application following an adjudicator’s decision it was dissatisfied with. Although the Part 8 issues raised are interesting (and I will briefly touch on them) as the title suggests, I want to focus on a different part of the case, namely a particular aspect of ISG’s bespoke extension of time provisions. Continue reading
January is undoubtedly the most popular time of year for new year resolutions, but the Business & Property Courts (B&PCs) got a head start on all of us by publishing their 2020 resolutions in early December.
As many of you will be aware, in 2018 the B&PCs set up a Witness Evidence Working Group, consisting of B&PC judges (including Waksman J of the TCC), barristers, solicitors and in-house counsel, to consider whether factual witness statements in the High Court are fit for purpose. The working group has now published a set of recommended reforms that will be relevant for anyone practising in the TCC. Continue reading
At the start of a new decade where automated, self-executing smart contracts are likely to become more commonplace, perhaps also in the construction sector, it is interesting to consider how such a development might impact construction dispute resolution processes. A smart contract is simply a computer protocol intended to facilitate, verify and enforce performance of a contract. In short, it is about contract law and related business practices being facilitated through the design of electronic commerce protocols. Understanding the role blockchain technologies can play in this context is key.
Notwithstanding the general success of construction adjudication as an interim form of construction dispute resolution, almost all final determination forms of construction dispute resolution remain lengthy and costly processes for all those involved. Marginal net economic wins even for the “successful” party regularly lead to both parties feeling dissatisfaction by the time the dispute is resolved. Even in the case of adjudication – and alternative dispute resolution processes – sunk costs can often feel disproportionate to the sums disputed, and there is an appetite for cheaper, swifter solutions – especially to resolving more straightforward and lower value claims. Continue reading
Or should that be waving goodbye to the “one-ders”, the “tweenies”, the “tensies” or simply the “tens”?
I wasn’t sure what you are supposed to call the last decade and an internet search didn’t prove much help either, with various options coming up.
Perhaps you have a favourite way to refer to the last decade. I couldn’t decide which one I preferred, although I did think there was something rather charming about the Australian idea of “one-der”, mixing up the words “wonder” and the number one, which was part of every year. It begs the question of what you’d call the wonders of the last ten years, but that is another blog entirely. Today I’m looking at those things I’d like to see in 2020 (and beyond). Continue reading
