Newsletter
Information for members
November 2003

Previous issue: October 2003
Next issue: December 2003

Programme

Contributions invited from Members

What construction law related topic would you like to see presented as a talk? Please email your suggestions to Jackie Morris on admin@scl.org.uk and we will do our best to organise a talk in your area.

You are also invited to contribute to the newsletter. If you have an item related to construction law that you 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 Hudson Prize 2003 (5,000 word essay)

Another reminder that entries for this year’s SCL Hudson Prize are now invited. The closing date for receipt of entries is 31st December 2003.

In addition to the kudos that comes with winning, the winner will receive a cheque for £1,500 and a case of fine wine. The winner of the second prize will receive a cheque for £750 (plus wine) and commendations may also be awarded. Entries must be original, ie, not previously published elsewhere and the Society reserves the right to publish the winning entries in hard copy and/or on its website, with copyright being held jointly by the author and the Society.

Jackie Morris at the admin office can provide a copy of the leaflet setting out the entry details, or you can download a copy from the SCL website.

Ethics Group

Members will remember that SCL Council has set up a group (which any member of the Society may join) to look into the question of ethics in the construction industry. It will be reporting back to the Council in the spring of 2004.

The group's brief is to pick up on the suggestion made by Professor John Uff QC CBE in the 2003 Michael Brown lecture Duties at the Legal Fringe: Ethics in Construction Law, that ethical rules are needed for the industry, and specifically that ‘an effective sanction in respect of an ethical code for construction law professionals requires … some form of registration which is capable of being revoked or withheld by an appropriately empowered body’. The group is therefore to consider the need for action and what SCL’s involvement should be, if any; to undertake research, investigate, review and make assessments in order to report on the options and provide recommendations to the Council in the spring of 2004.

Four subgroups have now been set up, as follows:

A. RESEARCH GROUP

Task: to investigate –

(a) the ethical rules, codes or guidance that apply to those practising in the construction industry (and others, if felt appropriate);

(b) published research on the subject of ethics (primarily in the context of the construction industry but if felt appropriate in other fields as well).

B. ISSUES GROUP

Task: to investigate whether there is a problem of unethical behaviour in the construction industry, and if so the nature and extent of the problem, who is guilty of unethical behaviour and who suffers as a result.

This to be done by collecting data –

(a) by emailing all SCL members asking for examples of unethical behaviour, to be provided (on a template provided) on a no-names basis;

(b) from other bodies (eg Transparency International)

C. DEFINITIONS GROUP

Task: to define what constitutes unethical behaviour (perhaps putting forward alternative definitions depending upon various factors).

D. OPTIONS GROUP

Task: to investigate the options available to SCL and the pros and cons of each. The entire spectrum of possible action to be considered, eg taking no further action; promoting discussion of the topic to raise awareness; publishing non binding guidance which could be opted into; publishing a code or rules, aspirational or specific, with or without sanctions; publishing a code that leads to certification or registration with sanctions.

SCL members who wish to contribute to the work of the group should email Jackie Morris on admin@scl.org.uk

Papers

The first four papers from the conference organised by the Centre of Construction Law in September, 'Contract or Co-operation?' are now on the web site (and copies will be emailed to all those who attended the conference). Remember that you can opt to receive pdf copies of web only papers if you wish (go to the members section of the website to opt in).

Grants

Every year SCL awards grants to educational establishments. We have previously given grants of over £1,000 each to King’s College London and to Glasgow Caledonian, Strathclyde and Wolverhampton universities for purchase of books and journals and for help towards the setting up of web facilities.

The award of grants is shortly to be reviewed again. If you know of a likely recipient, please encourage them to apply, either directly to Council Member David Risbridger on davidrisbridger@scl.org.uk or through the SCL website.

Member benefits

Members are reminded that they may use the Construction Law library at King’s College, London. However, please contact Sue Hart on 020 7848 2643 or susan.hart@kcl.ac.uk beforehand to check availability.

In addition, the website contains a list of discounts that have been negotiated on behalf of members. The list includes discounts on subscriptions to journals and on conferences, courses and books.

Geoffrey Ashworth

It is with regret that we announce the death of Geoffrey Ashworth, a long-standing member of the Society. We send our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

SCL Website

SCL Newsletter on line: A reminder that past copies of the newsletter are available at the website. You can also have a copy of the newsletter emailed to you every month. Just go to: 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. 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 the facility now exists for you to create a link to the website (links will be monitored by the publications editor, Frances Paterson).

New Members

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