Home

Adjudication may not help those who fail to follow statutory payment regime

The case of ISG Construction Ltd v Seevic College[1] (the 'Seevic case') has provided helpful guidance on the court’s approach to disputes involving payment notices under the statutory payment regime introduced by the Construction Act[2] and Part I of the Scheme[3] relating to payment. In particular the court made clear its reluctance to allow a party to use adjudication on a technicality to circumvent the payment provisions and reinforced the need to comply with the appropriate contractual or statutory payment and pay less notice provisions.

Finding the right experts can make all the difference in global construction disputes

With more and more construction projects being undertaken on a global scale, contractors and stakeholders in those projects need to be alive to issues which are generating disputes, both globally and in specific regions, as they take on work in new markets.

To help explain those issues, the global projects and construction team at lawyers Clyde & Co has published a Guide to global construction dispute resolution.

The guide outlines areas of dispute internationally, before examining a number of regions that are expected to give rise to disputes.

John Morris, global projects and construction group head, said: 'Across the diverse range of political and legal landscapes in the global infrastructure market, it is pivotal that construction contractors and project stakeholders understand the context in which any dispute over legal, commercial or technical matters will be fought.

Blacklisting case heads for the High Court

Picture of a demonstration by the Blacklist Support Group for Your Expert Witness story A case brought against construction giant Carillion in the so-called ‘blacklisting’ affair will be subject to a full two-day hearing in front of a High Court judge, it has been decided.

The decision was made by Mr Justice Singh at an Employment Appeal Tribunal hearing in London, in the case brought by electrician Dave Smith. The judge noted that the case could have a legal importance “going well beyond this case or even blacklisting”.

John Hendy QC, acting for Mr Smith, argued that the original tribunal decision to dismiss Mr Smith’s appeal for unfair dismissal – in essence that Carillion was not liable because he was employed by an agency – is in violation of the Human Rights Act and Articles 8 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and that these pieces of legislation should apply to all ‘workers’ and not just direct employees.

Figures show private housebuilding slightly up; public sector still in doldrums

Picture of new flats for Expert Witness story Figures from the NHBC have revealed that private-sector housing registrations in the UK had their best month for over a year in July, with 8,105 registrations. However, that still leaves private-sector registrations down 10% for the rolling quarter May to July compared to the same period last year (21,574 and 23,996 respectively).

Across all sectors registrations were down 21% compared to the same three months last year (28,951 against 36,716), with public sector registrations continuing to decline: 42% down during the rolling quarter.

MPs call for revolution in public sector building procurement

Picture of Olympic Stadium under construction for Expert Witness story The All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment has called on the Government to implement what it has termed 'a procurement revolution' to deliver significantly better value for money across the public sector.

Among the proposals in its report A Better Deal for Public Building is a call to adopt the procurement processes employed by the Olympic Delivery Authority, which was hailed for its successful delivery of top-class projects, to budget and on time.

The report endorses the Government's aim of achieving 20% cost savings for public construction projects over the course of the current Parliament, as outlined in its Construction Strategy, but it says that, unless Government implements its proposals, there is a danger that the savings will be achieved at the expense of good quality design.