February 2012
David Toscano looks at the impact of the recent worldwide political turmoil on construction contracts, looking in particular at force majeure as insurance.
Click to download PDF"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.
"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.