Newsletter
Information for members
May 2006

Previous issue: April 2006 | Next issue: June 2006

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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.

Enclosed with this newsletter are published copies of the 1st and 2nd SCL Hudson 2005 prize winning papers: “Right building – wrong place? Wrong building – right place?” by Philip Britton and “Repudiation, termination and quantum meruit” by Julian Bailey.

Thursday, 4th May 6pm
“Putting Construction Back in the Construction Court”
Speaker: Nerys Jefford
Chairman: Simon Goss
Venue: Bristol University, The Hawthorns, Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8
Organiser: simongoss@scl.org.uk

Monday, 8th May 6.15pm
“An American Perspective on the SCL's Delay and Disruption Protocol”
Speakers: Rick Lowe and Evans Barba
Chairman: Stuart Nash
Venue: National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place , London SW1
This event is a new addition to the SCL programme.  Members and their guests are encouraged to attend and a free glass of wine will be served to everyone!  This meeting is free and no booking is necessary.

Tuesday, 9th May 6.15pm
“A little about time at large. Calculating a reasonable time to complete in the absence of a completion date”
Speaker: Keith Pickavance
Chairman: Jocelyn Taylor
Venue: Nabarro Nathanson, 1 South Quay, Sheffield S2
Organiser: jocelyntaylor@scl.org.uk

Wednesday, 10th May 6pm
“A little about time at large. Calculating a reasonable time to complete in the absence of a completion date”
Speaker: Keith Pickavance
Chairman: Eric Fleming
Venue: Mitchell Library, North Street, Glasgow G3
Organiser: lindypatterson@scl.org.uk

Tuesday, 16th May 6.15pm
“Negligent participants in construction projects: The duty of care problems”
Speaker: Peter Aeberli
Chairman: Martin Green
Venue: Brunswick Lecture Theatre, Leeds Metropolitan University
Organiser: jonathanhawkswell@scl.org.uk

Wednesday, 17th May 6.30pm
The Society's AGM and Annual Dinner (for SCL members only)
Venue: Middle Temple Hall, London WC2
See separate item below and flyer and booking form attached to this newsletter

Thursday, 18 th May 6.00pm
SCL Junior Group Construction Law Seminar
“LADs, their enforceability and extensions of time”
Speaker: Caroline Catto
Chairman: Louise Shiels
Venue: Pinsent Masons, 18 -22 Melville Street , Edinburgh EH3 7NS
Organiser: lindypatterson@scl.org.uk

Thursday, 25th May 6.15pm
“100 Adjudication Appointments Later”
Speaker: Anthony Bingham
Chairman: Jeremy Williams
Venue: Hugh James Solicitors, 114-116 St Mary St , Cardiff CF10
Organiser: alisonshort@scl.org.uk

Thursday, 25th May 6.00pm
“Construction Industry Dispute Resolution – options compared and contrasted”
Speaker: Paul Darling QC
Venue: Waterfront, The Green Room, 2, Lanyon Place , Belfast BT1
patricia@adriankearney.com

Wednesday, 31st May 6.00pm
SCL Junior Group Construction Law Seminar
“Valuation and payment issues”
Speaker: Simona Williams
Chairman: Louise Shiels
Venue: McGrigors, 70 Wellington Street , Glasgow G2 6SB
Organiser: lindypatterson@scl.org.uk

Tuesday, 6th June 6.15pm
“Olympic Projects. International Dispute Resolution – from Beijing to London”
Speaker: Adrian Hughes
Chairman: Jonathan Hosie
Venue: National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place, London SW1

Wednesday, 7th June 6.00pm
“Looking forward to not looking back. Avoiding differences and disputes”
Speaker: John Burgess
Venue: The Rosebowl, Southampton SO30
Organiser: marianharris-deans@scl.org.uk

Monday, 19th June 6.15pm
“Neighbour Risk and Construction Project”
Speaker: Philip Britton
Chairman: Deborah Ritchie
Venue: Mills & Reeve, 78-84 Colemore Row, Birmingham B2 2AB
Organiser: arulselvaratnam@scl.org.uk

Tuesday, 27th June 6.00 pm
SCL Junior Group Construction Law Seminar
“JCT 2005”
Speaker: Maggie Kinnes
Chairman: Louise Shiels
Venue: Dundas & Wilson CS LLP, Saltire Court, 20 Castle Terrace,
Edinburgh EH1 2EN
Organiser: lindypatterson@scl.org.uk

Tuesday, 4th July 6.15pm
Joint SCA/SCL meeting
“Dangers and Benefits of Evaluative Mediation – Arbitrators as Mediators – an Oxymoron?”
Speaker: Colin Wall
Chairman: John Uff QC, CBE
Venue: National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place, London SW1

Thursday, 13th July
Junior SCL event
Boat Trip on the Thames. Cost £25 per person
Booking form/flyer on web and see separate item on Junior Members below.

The AGM and Annual Dinner

The AGM (see separate item below) and annual dinner will take place at Middle Temple Hall at 6.30pm on Wednesday, 17 th May. The cost is £75 per member, which includes pre-dinner drinks and wine with dinner and a flyer giving details of how to book is attached to this newsletter.

After the AGM, pre-dinner drinks will be served – in the gardens, if fine – followed by dinner itself in Middle Temple Hall. This year, in keeping with the surroundings, early English music will play during dinner.

The annual dinner is the one function of the year reserved for SCL members only and we do 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, meet your fellow members and dine in the magnificent 16 th century Middle Temple Hall, where the first performance of Shakespeare's “Twelfth Night” took place.

AGM and Council Election 2006

There are nine people standing for election to Council this year: Ronan Champion, Stephen Clarke, Michael Gerard , Nerys Jefford , Hamish Lal, Maurice Lynch, Peter Phillippo, David Richards and John Stuart Ringland.

A Ballot form, together with a separate document containing the candidates' details and their election statements, will be emailed to members very shortly.

Paid up members of the Society can vote for up to five candidates, and can vote in any one of the following methods: by post, by fax, by email, online at the SCL website, or in person at the AGM at 6.30pm on Wednesday, 17 th May at Middle Temple Hall, London. Full details are given on the Ballot form.

Retirement from Council

The AGM on 17 th May brings to an end the SCL ‘year' and four Members of council have announced that they will not be standing for re-election. These are: Richard Bayfield, Corrina King, Brian Gayton and Co-opted Member John Marrin QC (Chris Dering was obliged by work commitments to resign during the past year).

I am most grateful for the support which I have received from them all and I thank them very much on behalf of everyone for their work for the Society.

Anthony Lavers
Chairman, SCL

Conference News

SCL International Conference 2006: Singapore, October 2006

Following discussions between the respective Societies, the Singapore Society of Construction Law has offered to host the first SCL International Conference on 16 th and 17 th October 2006 in Singapore . The intention is to bring together the Societies of the Asia Pacific region, which now include Singapore , Malaysia , Hong Kong and New Zealand , together with other SCLs from the UK and the United Arab Emirates . The members of the European Society of Construction Law have also been invited to participate and other experts have been invited from Australia , China and India . The themes of the Conference are to be Oil and Gas, Mega Projects, FIDIC Contracts, Professional Negligence and Insurance, with special features on China , India and the Middle East .

SCL UK is an organising partner for this Conference and it is intended that the new Chairman and Vice Chairman will attend. Any SCL members wishing to register for attendance at the Conference should contact June Tan at june@intellitrain.biz. The Conference fee is 975 Singapore dollars (SGD) which is approximately £335.

ESCL Annual Conference: August 2006

The European Society of Construction Law Annual conference will be held on 25 th August 2006 in Stockholm , hosted by the Swedish Society. The programme includes sessions on large infrastructure projects in the public sector and risk allocation in such projects, design and build projects in Denmark and under FIDIC, allocation of geotechnical risks, insurance on large projects and ethical issues in construction law. Speakers are from SKANSKA, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, White & Case, Mannheimer Swartling, Malmö and NCC Construction, Malmö.

If any SCL members wish to attend this conference, you can register online at www.svefek.se. The Conference fee is 1875 Swedish Krona (SEK), which is approximately £137.

Ethics

The ethics group have prepared a draft statement of ethical principles, set out below. Further details are on the ethics page of the web site. Comments are invited on these principles; can you write to Jackie Morris at the admin postal address, or email your comments directly to ethics@scl.org.uk

Statement of Ethical Principles

Ethical conduct is the compliance with the following ethical principles.

1. Honesty - act with honesty and avoid conduct likely to result, directly or indirectly, in the deception of others.
2. Fairness - do not seek to obtain a benefit which arises directly or indirectly from the unfair treatment of other people.
3. Fair reward - avoid acts which are likely to result in another party being deprived of a fair reward for their work.
4. Reliability - maintain up to date skills and provide services only within your area of competence.
5. Integrity - have regard for the interests of the public, particularly people who will make use of or obtain an interest in the project in the future.
6. Objectivity - identify any potential conflicts of interest and disclose the conflict to any person who would be adversely affected by it.
7. Accountability - provide information and warning of matters within your knowledge which are of potential detriment to others who may be adversely affected by them. Warning must be given in sufficient time to allow the taking of effective action to avoid detriment.

These principles apply to the work of all professionals working in the construction industry, whatever their original qualification or affiliation.

Anti-Corruption Action Statement

UK businesses and associations with interests in the domestic and international infrastructure, construction and engineering sectors have agreed a comprehensive Anti-Corruption Action Statement as part of a programme to promote industry-led actions which can help eliminate corruption.

The Action Statement has been developed and endorsed by the Anti-Corruption Forum, which comprises the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), British Consultants and Construction Bureau (BCCB), Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), Transparency International (UK) (TI(UK)), and representatives of the business community.

The Action Statement calls on all those with interests in the infrastructure, construction and engineering sectors to take effective and co-ordinated action to reduce corruption, on both a domestic and international basis, and on both the supply and demand sides. It identifies the various categories of participant in the sectors, including governments, project owners, banks, export credit agencies, companies providing the equipment and services for a project, business associations and professional institutions. It recommends preventive and enforcement actions which could be taken by those participants. A copy of the Anti-Corruption Action Statement is available on the Ethics page of SCL's website.

SCL Junior Members

If you are under 40 or new to the world of construction law, then you can register as a junior member.  The junior committee arranges site visits, conferences with King's College London and social events such as the summer Boat Trip on the Thames . This year's Boat Trip will be on Thursday, 13 th July – cost £25. A flyer giving full details (and booking form) is on the website, or send cheque for £25, payable to SCL, to Jackie Morris at the Admin address below.

To register as a Junior Member, log in to the SCL website (www.scl.org.uk) using your username and password. Click on ‘Members' and then and then the 'Junior members' link on the left. You will find an explanation of Junior Membership, and a simple form to register. You do not need to enter your name/details, as these are already recognised by the website after you logged in; you only need to confirm your eligibility by giving either your date of birth, or stating that you are junior in your area of expertise. Nicholas Gould, SCL's Vice chairman, is responsible for the Junior members and he can be emailed on by email

The Norman Royce Prize Paper

The Society of Construction Arbitrators has announced that they are to institute an annual prize in memory of the late Norman Royce. A prize of £2,000 will be awarded to the author of the best paper on a topic relevant to or touching on domestic or international construction disputes, including, but not limited to, their resolution and avoidance; and the lessons to be learnt from them. The closing date for entries is 1 st  July 2006 . Further details can be found on the SCA's website at www.arbitrators-society.org

Out of date contact details

Please don't forget to let us know when you change any of your contact details. If you move firms, then you take your membership with you, providing we know where to contact you!

If we lose touch and your name is removed from the membership list then – although you don't have to go through the application process again – you will be required to pay the full joining fee (currently £165) to be reinstated to the membership list. We don't need a formal letter of notification from you – an email to Jackie Morris at admin@scl.org.uk giving your change of postal address, telephone, fax and email is all that's needed.

How to register on the website as a member

In order to get members' access to the website you must register online as a member. Registration is easy.

Go to the website homepage www.scl.org.uk click Member Registration (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 – and where you can choose to have the newsletter emailed to you instead of (or as well as) receiving it by post. This is where you can also search for information about other SCL members who have agreed for their data to be accessible to other members on the website – the total of those who have given permission is now nearly 1,000 members.

Website Search Engine

SCL's website has a useful search facility. In the right column of the homepage you will see 'Quick Search'. Enter your word(s) and choose which of three sections to search - 'About Us', SCL newsletters, and summaries of papers. We hope that this facility will make it easier for members to find what they are looking for on the site. The website is constantly being improved.  If you have any questions, problems or suggestions, please contact our webmaster, Edward Peters, at Webmaster

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:

Fouzi K S Bin Essa, Safat, Kuwait
Nicholas Bradley, Hereford
Robert Burt, Glasgow
Jonathan Coates, Cheddar
Donald Cunningham, Kuala Lumpur
Peter English, Leicester
Daniel Finn, London
David Fish, Cheshire
Dieter Gockmann, London
Tracy Goldsmith, Epping
Wendy Goldthorp, Birmingham
Brian Jenkins, Dubai, UAE
Kevin Laverty, Southampton
Mark Lynch, London
Graeme Macdonald, Dubai, UAE
Marissa Martinez, London
Dermot Hugh McLean, Prague
Paul O'Dwyer, Leamington Spa
Charles Pimlott, London
Sumith Rajapaksha, Dubai, UAE
Paul James Redstone, Vienna
Mark Robinson, Birmingham
Sayed Sajidali Sangamneheri, New Malden
Craig Sida, Dubai, UAE
Paul Slinger, Birmingham
James Thacker, Hornchurch
Guy Thomas, Chester
Gordon Wilson, Edinburgh

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