This paper considers the circumstances when a contractor may come under a duty to warn the employer, or the employer’s contract administrator, of deficiencies in the design which the contractor has undertaken to build.
In this paper Simon Hale KC provides a comprehensive review of limitation of liability clauses from an English & Welsh law perspective. He explains that these clauses are of vital commercial importance to parties on construction or technology projects. If there is clarity the limitation of liability clause will generally be enforced, but that is a big ‘if’.
When we examine systems, we tend to believe that everything that happens has a definite, identifiable cause and effect. We expect that significant failures happen because of significant causes, and vice versa. The author looks at the Boeing 737 MAX 8 crash in 2018, and introduces the sand pile model, explaining that taking a complex systems approach provides a more useful way of viewing these types of incidents.
The paper looks at ‘hybrid contracts’ which contain operations some of which fall within and some outside the scope of Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. They have long had a bad reputation due to difficulties giving effect to the mandatory requirements of the Act and its imposition of the mandatory payment regime where the hybrid contract ‘bites’ on ‘construction operations’.
The paper considers tunnelling and underground construction work and the significant recent developments in contracting practice with the FIDIC Emerald Book 2019; the 2023 guidance on Geotechnical Baseline Reports by both CIRIA in the UK and ASCE in the US; and the third edition of the International Code of Practice for Risk Management of Tunnel Works in 2023.
The paper considers the tension between homeowner protection and the protection of commercial interests in a post-Grenfell world. The paper examines how the First Tier Property Tribunal determines a ‘relevant defect’ when considering applications for Remediation Orders under the Building Safety Act 2022.
The paper considers the implications of UK construction law on Environmental, Social, and Governance issues, especially the governance of construction supply chains. The authors consider: does current UK legislation align with ESG considerations for the governance of construction supply chains? How might contractual provisions deliver governance oversight and robust enforcement?
The paper looks at the so-called Insolvent Contributor problem, an issue where guidance from case law is lacking, particularly so in construction cases, where it is likely that contribution proceedings may involve an insolvent contributor.
The paper focuses on internationalising adjudication, a fast ADR mechanism using a third-party adjudicator to make a decision, a timely issue in light of the recent UNCITRAL model clause on adjudication, and the ISAF draft model adjudication law.
The paper examines the challenges climate change poses to construction contracts and projects. The author introduces a ‘Systems Thinking’ approach as a solution to these challenges and analyses its effectiveness. How can ‘Systems Thinking’ be adopted in the construction sector and how can it be practically implemented within construction projects and reflected in construction contracts?
