The Fenwick Elliott Annual Review (please click here to read), contains articles and practical advice designed to help keep you up to date on the latest legal developments and regulatory changes.
Our Review includes details of the key cases from the past 12 months taken from our monthly newsletter, Dispatch, as well as the Construction Industry Law letter. For example, these cases demonstrate the continuing support given by the courts to mediation, and we review this in more detail in the article on page 19. We also discuss on page 15 what the courts say compliance with the pre-action protocol really means.
There have been a number of new contracts released over the past year and our Review looks at the latest FIDIC Gold Contract for Design-Build-Operate projects on page 32 and asks, on page 30, whether the RIBA Agreement 2007 has enjoyed a successful first year.
You may have noticed that there have been a number of cases involving letters of intent in the courts over the past 12 months. The article on page 11 can help you overcome some of the pitfalls associated with these. Another topic which has featured in the courts over the past 12 months is the number of (increasingly successful) challenges to tendering procedures by one or more of the unsuccessful parties. Our note on this, to be found from pages 22, includes discussion of the leading cases from England, Northern Ireland, as well as Europe.
In the 2007 review (please click here), we noted the support given by the courts to contract terms requiring a contractor to give prompt notice of delay or disruption. The article on time bars on page 36 (as well as the article on the new FIDIC contract) suggests that although that trend has to some extent continued, the courts and contract bodies also recognise the unfair burden that such clauses can sometimes impose on contractors who may lose the right to make any claim at all, if prompt notice is not given.
Finally, on page 39, we consider the role of experts in international contract disputes. In doing so, we provide some practical advice which is equally relevant to the work of experts in the UK.
To read the Annual Review, please click here.
To see further articles on matters relating to construction, engineering and energy projects, please visit www.fenwickelliott.co.uk.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
