Newsletter
Information for members
May 2005

Previous issue: April 2005 | Next issue: June 2005

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Programme

Unless marked otherwise, the following meetings are free to members and guests. Location maps are now always available on the website.

All are welcome but for those meetings where the organiser’s telephone or email is given, it would be helpful if you could please let them know of your intention to attend .

Tuesday 10 May, 6.15pm
“How to succeed in Adjudication: An Adjudicator’s View”
Speaker: Eric Mouzer
Chairman: tba
Venue: Brunswick Lecture Theatre, Leeds Metropolitan University
Organiser: jonathanhawkswell@scl.org.uk

Wednesday 11th May, 6.30pm
The AGM and Annual Dinner at Middle Temple Hall
Venue: Middle Temple Hall, London EC4
See separate item below and flyer/booking form attached
Strictly SCL members only – members may not invite non-member guests

Tuesday 17 May, 6pm
“Construction Insurances”
Speaker: Bill Gloyn
Chairman: Jocelyn Taylor
Venue: Newton Building, Nottingham Trent University
Organiser: jocelyntaylor@scl.org.uk

Tuesday 7 June 6.15pm
“Is the Construction Industry well served by the Legal Process?”
Speaker: Michael Blacker
Chairman: tba
Venue: National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place, London SW1
Organiser: marianharris-deans@scl.org.uk

Thursday 16 June, 6.15pm
“Fast track procedures in adjudication and arbitration”
Speaker: Peter Aeberli, Barrister and Arbitrator
Chairman: tba
Venue Said Business School, Oxford
Organiser: richardwade@scl.org.uk

Tuesday 5 July, 6.15.pm
Joint SCA/ SCL meeting (speaker & chairman tba)
National Liberal Club, 1 Whitehall Place, London SW1

The AGM and Council Election

The AGM will take place at Middle Temple Hall at 6.30pm on Wednesday, 11 th May. If you have not already caste your vote in the Council Election, you may still do so online at www.scl.org.uk until 5pm on Monday, 9 th May. Thereafter, voting can only be done in person at the AGM .

The Annual Dinner in Middle Temple Hall

A reminder to those of you who have not yet done so that there is still time to book your place at the annual dinner. Bookings can be made on the website, or complete and return the booking form attached to this newsletter. The price is £68 per member (this includes pre-dinner drinks and wine) and a flyer giving details of how to book is attached to this newsletter.

After the business of the AGM is over, pre-dinner drinks will be served - in the gardens, if fine - followed by dinner itself in the magnificent 16 th century Middle Temple Hall. This year’s musical interlude will be provided by Opera Soufflé.

This is the one function of the year reserved for SCL members only and we hope that as many of you as possible will be able to join us. We particularly urge those of you who have never been before to come along to this very friendly function and meet your fellow members.

Papers

A number of papers have been published and put on the website recently.  Don't forget that if you want to receive email copies of the web-only papers, you just need to sign up on the website (see separate item below).

Following Neill Sainsbury's talk in London on 14th March, the discussion draft of the Transparency International Anti-Corruption Code has been published in hard copy and put on the website – where it can be downloaded free of charge (Unethical Behavior and Criminal Acts). Another paper made available free of charge is an updated paper given by Professor John Uff CBE QC in Southampton at the end of last year Ethics in Construction Law – Two Years On.  This looks at the progress being made by the ethics subgroup, and includes a draft code of ethical conduct – on which comments are invited.  For those interested in the law of Ireland, John Lyden's paper on Extensions of Time under Construction Contracts in Ireland is now on the website.  Christopher Cullens' paper on Novation is now on the website (and a hard copy is enclosed with this newsletter).  Members will have received the paper by Michael Black QC Design Risk in FIDIC Contacts and Tomas Kennedy-Grants' paper ADR - Antipodean Dispute Resolution.   The Hudson prize winning papers will also be going on the website in due course.

SCL National Representatives

In addition to the seven National Representatives announced last month, we are delighted to report that Council has endorsed the appointment of Jane Davies-Evans as the National Representative for New Zealand . The full list of National Representatives is now as follows:

Geoff Smith and Jim Perry are the joint representatives for France
Euan Massey is the representative for South Africa
Elena Vassiliadon is the representative for Greece
Noushad Ali Naseem is the representative for Malaysia
Simon Lee is the representative for the Sydney/New South Wales region of Australia
John Sharkey is the representative for the Melbourne/Victoria region of Australia
Jane Davies-Evans is the representative for New Zealand

We are delighted with the response from overseas members keen to be involved and we look forward to working with them to our mutual benefit. They can be contacted via Councillors Keith Kirkwood and Christopher Dering

DTI Consultation Paper – responses invited

Members will be aware that in March the DTI published a consultation paper on proposals to amend the Construction Act and Scheme, Improving Payment Practices in the Construction Industry.  It can be downloaded from www.dti.gov.uk/construction/hgcra/hgcralead.htm or a hard copies can be obtained from DTI publications order line telephone: 0845 015 0010 quoting URN 05/851.

The DTI would like responses from as many individuals and firms as possible, as well as industry bodies.  It is also looking for ideas (in particular in relation to the payment issues) and evidence (for the Regulatory Impact assessment that will be essential if legislation is to be brought forward).   SCL members are therefore encouraged to respond, and to pass on the message to their clients as appropriate. 

The DTI is consulting on certain proposals (set out in chapters 1 to 3).  Although it is not formally consulting on other issues (set out in Annex 2), all comments received will be considered.  Members may therefore wish to respond on the Annex 2 issues.  (The CIC has drafted some additional questions in relation to these issues and a copy can be obtained from Jackie Morris at admin@scl.org.uk).

The deadline is 21st June 2005 .

SCL Members Directory 2005/2006

The next hard copy edition of the Members Directory will be printed in June. Please check online if the address, telephone, fax and email we currently have for you on the database are correct, and update where necessary. Alternatively, ask admin to confirm and/or update your details.

Please note: If you do not want your name and contact details to be printed in the hard copy directory, you can either log this online yourself, or let admin know so that your name can be omitted.

Avoidance of doubt

Members of Council have been contacted by some members concerning possible confusion arising from the advertisement of  construction law seminars by an organisation using the initials SGCL. For the avoidance of doubt, SCL has no connection with that organisation or its seminars. I hope this provides any clarification which had become necessary.

Anthony Lavers
Chairman.

Membership and SCL logo clarification following recent queries

All members are reminded that:

1. Membership of the Society does not carry a qualification as such, however SCL Membership may be mentioned on a CV.
2. Members who have a web site can create a link to the SCL web site but the Society will only link to non-commercial organisations from its own web site (www.scl.org.uk).
3. Membership of the Society does not allow members to use the SCL logo as part of their individual or corporate promotional material.
4. The SCL logo can be used for promotional material involving events (such as conferences) in which SCL is a key partner. However permission to use the logo must always be requested first.

SCL Website – how to register

Members who have not yet registered on the website are encouraged to do so. It’s easy. Just go to the website homepage www.scl.org.uk click Member Registration, which is listed below the Member Login box on the right hand side of the homepage, and enter your details and a username and password of your own choosing. Your membership number is also asked for (if you don’t know it, then admin can tell you).

Thereafter, you can simply log onto the website using your username and password. When you log in you will see a navigation link to 'Members' which is where you can update your contact details, email subscriptions and data protection information – as well as search for information about other SCL members who have agreed for their data to be accessible to other members on the website (currently over 500 members).

The website is constantly being improved.  If you have any questions, problems or suggestions, please contact our webmaster, Edward Peters, at webmaster@scl.org.uk

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.

New Members

Finally, we are pleased to welcome the following new members who joined the Society in April:

Lisa Dromgoole, Edinburgh
Gordon Edmiston, Renfrew
Colin Fraser, Glasgow
Sean Gibbs, Cheltenham
Damien Keogh, Dublin
Wei Yaw Lam, Singapore
Chi Kwong Law, Hong Kong
Fiona Lewis, London
David Marsh, Perth, Australia
Ian Radford, Manchester
Christopher Rae, Edinburgh
Derek Russell, Erlangen, Germany
Trevor Selman, Estepona, Spain
Andrew Smith, London

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