The paper looks at the so-called Insolvent Contributor problem, an issue where guidance from case law is lacking, particularly so in construction cases, where it is likely that contribution proceedings may involve an insolvent contributor.
The paper focuses on internationalising adjudication, a fast ADR mechanism using a third-party adjudicator to make a decision, a timely issue in light of the recent UNCITRAL model clause on adjudication, and the ISAF draft model adjudication law.
The paper examines the challenges climate change poses to construction contracts and projects. The author introduces a ‘Systems Thinking’ approach as a solution to these challenges and analyses its effectiveness. How can ‘Systems Thinking’ be adopted in the construction sector and how can it be practically implemented within construction projects and reflected in construction contracts?
The paper discusses the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, which progresses the objectives of the European Green Deal ensuring no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, that economic growth is decoupled from resource use, and that no person and no place is left behind.
The paper suggests that it is time for an Irish Technology and Construction Court to be established. After a review of the TCC in England and Wales, the paper considers the findings of the Kelly Report in 2020, and the fact that Ireland has already paved the way towards an ITCC by introducing statutory construction adjudication.
The paper considers how the law of England and Wales might soon have to adapt to enable a Green Thread of environmental responsibility and overcome issues of legal liability associated with the concept of reuse in construction. The paper states that the pressing need to increase the reuse of building materials and elements means that the attitude of survivalism that has prevailed in the construction industry is no longer sufficient.
This paper asks whether the parties’ autonomy to subject themselves to mediation and ADR provisions is limited because such provisions may prove to be unenforceable in court. The arguments presented bridge the gap in understanding the enforcement of mediation and ADR provisions, particularly from a transnational perspective.
The recent case of URS Corp v BDW Trading Ltd asks the question: when does a cause of action accrue in tort for a defectively designed building where no damage has yet occurred? The starting point for this question is the House of Lords decision in Pirelli General Cable Works Ltd v Oscar Faber & Partners.
The paper provides an overview of the TCC’s summary procedure for enforcing unpaid adjudication awards and analyses one approach to challenging such awards which has been employed by non-paying parties: use of a Part 8 claim, to seek the court’s final determination of a self-contained legal issue which arose in the adjudication.
The paper suggests a scenario – you act for a contractor who has not been paid for his work. You read the contract and find no contractual entitlement. What should you do? The author’s suggestion is that you should run through a checklist of possible extra-contractual routes to recovery: misrepresentation, implied terms and damages for breach of contract, prevention/time at large, estoppel, impossibility, and penalty and relief from forfeiture.
