Newsletter
Information for members
May 2003

Previous issue: April 2003
Next issue: June 2003

Programme

A reminder that the general evening meetings are free of charge to members and guests and that no booking is necessary

A new SCL Construction Law seminar: Introduction to the Basics

The Junior Committee of SCL and the Centre of Construction Law at King’s College London have together devised a new half-day seminar entitled Construction Law: Introduction to the Basics. The seminar is intended for those considering construction as a possible specialisation and for junior or recently appointed staff who are encountering construction issues in their work for the first time. The purpose is to provide a general introduction to many of the widely encountered principles and also discuss some of the current important topics in the area. Subjects that will be covered in outline include procurement, PFI, standard form contracts, claims, defects, and the range of dispute resolution techniques currently used in the industry.

The first Construction Law: Introduction to the Basics takes place on Tuesday 9 September 2003 from 3pm to 6.30pm in room 11F of the Strand Campus at King’s College; a buffet with wine follows, on the mezzanine overlooking the Thames. Professor Phillip Capper (Lovells & King’s) will provide the opening lecture. Confirmed speakers also include Nicholas Gould (Fenwick Elliott & King’s) and Philip Britton (King’s). The all-inclusive cost (including documentation and supper) is £80 for SCL members, £95 for non-members; there will be discounts for more than one delegate from the same firm or company.

All SCL members will be sent further details and booking information during late May/early June. To register your interest now or for further information, contact Susan Hart at King’s College on susan.hart@kcl.ac.uk or 020-7848 2643.

The Annual Dinner

The Society’s Annual Dinner will take place on Friday, 16th May 2003 at Middle Temple Hall. The ticket price for the dinner is £65. There are still places available which can be booked either through the SCL website or by post. If you need another copy of the booking form, contact the admin office.

Due to popular request, there will be no speaker at this year’s event but we will, instead, have a musical interlude during the evening.

As those of you who have attended in previous years know, this is a fairly informal event, with no seating plan and plenty of opportunities for members of the Society to mingle and chat to each other, either at the pre-dinner drinks in the gardens, or in the Hall itself after dinner. This is the one function of the year reserved for members only and we hope that many of you will decide to join us in the splendid medieval Middle Temple Hall for what promises to be a memorable occasion.

Renewal of Membership 2003

Thanks to those of you who have already renewed your 2003 membership. We are, however, still waiting to receive subscription from some members. A reminder therefore to those who are still to pay that continued membership requires you to pay your £95 subscription now please. Payment can be made either by cheque (payable to SCL) sent to the admin office, or by Debit Card on the website. If you have mislaid the renewal invoice sent to you in December, then the admin office can supply a copy.

Elections to Council 2003

All members should have received the list of candidates standing for election to Council and a ballot form. If you have not received these documents, then please contact Jackie Morris who can supply copies. The deadline for receiving postal ballots (by email, fax or post) is Wednesday, 7th May or, alternatively, you may vote at the AGM to be held at 6.30pm at Middle Temple Hall on Friday, 16th May.

SCL Web Site: www.scl.org.uk

For those members new to the Society and/or to the www, our website is a constant source of new information. Items which have arrived too late to be published in a newsletter, or details of meetings which have been arranged after the seasonal Diary has gone to print, will be posted on the website. It is where you will find a list of over 100 titles of past papers, quite a few of which are available as free downloadable files (after your once-off registration, see below). In addition, the website has links to more than 50 other sites considered to be of interest to members.

If you think something is missing which should be there (so long as it is not a commercial site) then please get in touch with the publications editor, Frances Paterson

Website Registration

Registering on the website is easy and the benefits of doing so are that:

1 You can download SCL papers for free (non members have to pay £2.50 per paper).
2 You can update your contact details directly in our online database, so that the Society always has your up-to-date information.
3 You can opt to receive the monthly newsletter by email (as well as, or instead of, by post) and to have new papers emailed to you as attachments.

Simply click on to the 'Papers' page, or the 'Member Login' page or, alternatively, go directly to http://www.oxfordinform.com/scl/members/memberregform2.php and follow the instructions.

Once registered, you can access the papers for free or log in via the 'Member Login' button on the right hand side of the homepage, to a private page only accessible to you, where you can update your contact details, and choose email subscriptions.

Please contact Edward Peters our webmaster at Webmaster if you have any questions about any aspect of this process.

Environment Agency Website

The Environment Agency has launched a new website called NETREGS, giving clear guidance and advice on all legislation governing the construction sector.

Use of the site is free and aims to make it easy for clients and the supply side to find their way through the every growing mound of legislation covering the environmental aspects of construction.

The website address is www.environment-agency.gov.uk/netregs

Rethinking Construction: Learning Exchange Event

Six local authorities have been awarded Beacon status for their excellent practice in rethinking construction.

An outline of their work can be seen at: www.idea.gov.uk/beacons/round4/?id=construction

A 'learning exchange' event is being held on 8th July to share their excellence and innovation with other councils and relevant organisations. If you are interested in attending, further details and a booking form can be found at: www.idea.gov.uk/beacons/round4/?id=events

For further information, contact Steve Fleming at IdeA on 020 7296 6622 or email info@idea.gov.uk

Links with Barcelona

The current President of the European Society for Construction Law, Prof Dr Alfonso Hernandez Moreno is seeking to expand the list of law firms affiliated to the Masters of International Law, which course is run by the ISDE and University of Barcelona. During part of the study period, Masters degree students find placements with the affiliated firms. For more information please contact Christopher Miers, christophermiers@scl.org.uk

Dispute Resolution Board Foundation Annual Conference

On 23rd and 24th May, 2003, Paris will host the third annual International Conference on the use of "Dispute Boards", a unique project-oriented technique that has had remarkable success in avoiding and resolving disputes in construction and engineering projects.

The conference, organised by the "Dispute Resolution Board Foundation" ("DRBF") will examine the use of this technique, which is already contained in World Bank and FIDIC contracts for international construction procurement. Full details will be available shortly but for advance registration for the conference (open to all interested persons) please contact drbf.fra@wanadoo.fr

Dispute Resolution Guidance

As you may know, the Office of Government Commerce has recently published a document on Dispute Resolution Guidance together with the Lord Chancellor's Pledge on ADR for Government procurement. These may be found on the Office of Government Commerce's website, www.ogc.gov.uk

If you have any comments on these documents, they should be forwarded to Roger Hankey, Construction Division, Property and Construction Directorate of the OGC; his e-mail address is roger.hankey@ogc.gsi.gov.uk

University of California

The University of California is running a number of international law courses in Summer 2003 that they think might be of interest to members of SCL.

The courses include "Orientation in USA Law" providing a four week overview of the US legal system, a two week "Structuring and international joint venture" course and also their "Summer Master of Arts Degree in International Commercial Law", which entails attending courses over a six week period during 3-5 consecutive summers.

Further information about the University and its various courses may be found on its website www.law.ucdavis.edu

Invitation to contribute to the Newsletter

If any member has an item related to construction law that they feel would be of interest to others, then please email text to Jackie Morris at admin@scl.org.uk. A member of Council will thereafter decide whether to include the item in the next Newsletter. Please note that we do not accept advertisements or items of a commercial nature.

SCL Membership

Finally, we are pleased to welcome the following new members to the Society during April:

Regional Coordinators

Are you moving? Will your contact details change? Do we have your email address? Please tell Membership Administration so that we can keep our records up to date.

Membership/Administration
67 Newbury Street
Wantage, Oxon., OX12 8DJ
Tel: 01235 770606
Fax: 01235 770580
Email