Articles - Contract issues archive

"The art of negotiation in a difficult market"

December 2011

David Bebb, in a paper given at the last Capital Projects in the Education Sector Seminar, looks at some of the most common amendments to standard contracts designed to shift risk firmly to the contractor’s doorstep and offers some tips on negotiating your way into a position where you can sleep a little easier at night.

"Standard forms: JCT 2005, NEC3 and the Virtual Contract"

September 2011

In this paper, Nicholas Gould reviews some of the standard form contracts that are currently available for use in the construction industry. A review of the standard forms cannot be separated from the procurement pathways that are used in the industry, so the two are considered in parallel. It is important to consider the procurement pathway first in order to select the appropriate standard form contract, especially as there are so many published and available for use in the construction industry

"Bonds and guarantees"

November 2011

In a paper presented at Fenwick Elliott's Construction Law Update Seminar, Ted Lowery provides a guide to bonds and guarantees explaining the different principles that apply to primary and secondary obligations and focusing on common pitfalls to avoid when negotiating these types of instrument.

"'Hot topics' in procurement"

November 2009

Barry Hembling, in a paper given at the latest Fenwick Elliott Capital Projects in the Education Sector Seminar discusses the current key issues in procurement law. These include looking at when the EU procurement laws actually apply, asking who can bring a claim for breach of the procurement rules and reviewing what remedies are available for breach of those rules.

"FIDIC an overview: the latest developments, comparisons, claims and a look into the future"

2 September 2008

"Time and Money: Time bar clauses"

5 October 2007

Nicholas Gould in a paper given at the FIDIC Contracts Conference 2007, discusses time bar clauses, with particular reference to Clause 20.1 of the FIDIC form. Are time bar clauses effective in disallowing any claim a contractor may have that might otherwise be legally recognisable?

"Liability for defects in construction contracts – who pays and how much?"

10 October 2006

Jeremy Glover, in a paper given for the Academie voor da Rechtspraktijk at the Kasteel Ammersoyen, in the Netherlands, reviews how a typical English contract treats defects from the viewpoint of the relationship between the employer and the contractor, looks at some of the problem caused by limitation and finally considers how damages for defects are assessed.

"Payment, security and challenging times"

December 2011

Julie Stagg, in a paper given at the last Capital Projects in the Education Sector Seminar summarises the recent changes to the payment regime and offers practical advice to assist clients in dealing with the new process. The paper goes on to consider the issue of performance and payment security, which is of great importance when facing an uncertain future economically. Finally, the paper considers what other protection may be available to clients in the sector to relieve the adverse consequences of contractor insolvency.

"Scheduling and executing the project: delay, disruption and change management"

September 2004

Nicholas Gould, in a paper given to the IBA Conference on "Construction Projects from Conception to Completion" held in Brussels, considers some of the legal issues arising from the execution of a project in relation to delay and disruption. The paper considers the need to prove cause and effect, float, concurrency, dominant cause, proximate cause and apportionment. In addition, the paper discusses change management - one of the key building blocks of the Society of Construction Law's delay and disruption protocol.

"FIDIC: Red Book (1999) and MDB Harmonised Edition (Pink Book) compared"

August 2010

The note by Frederic Gillion reviews the differences between the FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Construction for Building and Engineering Works Design by the Employer, 1999 Edition (the 1999 Red Book) and the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) Harmonised Edition of the 1999 Red Book (FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Construction), revised June 2010, also know as the MDB Harmonised Edition (the Pink Book), highlighting the effect of the changes on the parties.