Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, has announced that 192 public bodies (quangos) will be abolished (including the Design Council), with others being restructured (for example the Home and Communities Agency (HCA) and the Environment Agency (EA)), and some still on hold pending further review (see below). Continue reading
False. The recent case of Azimut-Benetti SpA v Darrell Marcus Healey is another example of the courts moving away from the “genuine pre-estimate of loss” test and looking at whether the clause is commercially justifiable.
Last week, I looked at the progress on sustainability in Wales. This week, I’d like to focus on three keys areas that may develop differently in England and Wales, as the devolved legislation affecting sustainable construction continues to develop, before considering how Welsh businesses are reacting to the changes.
The three areas I want to highlight are:
Regular readers of my blog (and followers of PLC Construction) may be forgiven for thinking that I have a crystal ball and can see into the future, after writing last week about without prejudice, only for the very same topic to appear in a Coulson J judgment later the same day.
Having discussed without prejudice last week, I will leave that for another day. However, other aspects of Coulson J’s judgment merit attention, particular his words at paragraph 11. Continue reading
Legal advice privilege exists so that a client and his solicitor may speak candidly to each other when seeking and providing advice as to what should be done in a relevant legal context. That candour would be impaired if those communications might be disclosable to a third party.
This area of privilege has been undermined in recent years, particularly for in-house lawyers. This post takes a broad look at the ECJ’s judgment in Akzo Nobel, against the backdrop of the judgment in Three Rivers, and considers whether together they represent a judicial trend away from legal advice privilege. Continue reading
As a Welshman, it’s good to be showing the English the way for once.
For more than 10 years, Westminster has devolved legislative and executive functions to the National Assembly for Wales (NAW) and the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG). To some degree, health, education, transport, housing, local government and environmental protection have all moved into Welsh control. Gradually, Welsh law is emerging in its own right.
Whatever you think of this development, construction is at the forefront of it because of the WAG’s ambitious and impressive sustainability agenda. Continue reading
What happens if, during the adjudication, one party intentionally or accidentally discloses to the adjudicator a settlement offer made by the other party? Continue reading
Disclosure, discovery, whichever term you choose, the process is synonymous with time and expense in litigation. In subject areas that are document-heavy, like construction and engineering disputes, or large commercial cases, the cost of going through the disclosure process is often a significant part of a party’s overall costs. Continue reading
“Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself.”
It was all change at the TCC this month. Not only did Akenhead J’s time as the Judge in Charge begin (and Ramsey J’s end), but we also waved goodbye to the old TCC Guide. The second revision is now upon us. Are you up to speed? Continue reading
Every now and then a case comes along which forces us to reassess and question the way we see things. The Court of Appeal’s decision in Nurdin Jivraj v Sadruddin Hashwani, about which Richard Power also wrote last week, is one of those cases.
In deciding arbitrators are “in employment” for the purposes of anti-discrimination laws, the Court of Appeal has created a world of uncertainty as to what (if any) restrictions parties may agree in their arbitration clauses on who may serve as arbitrator without rendering their agreement to arbitrate void. Continue reading