Article archive
30/05/2010 19:47
Back to school
In his letter the Headmaster of my old school reminded me of my promise made a couple of years earlier to donate certain memorabilia to its proposed museum project. The...
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29/05/2010 16:08
CDM Regulations: tabular summary
This paper shows, in tabular form, which members of the construction team (including the client) are responsible for which aspects of the CDM Regulations.
CDM regulations...
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29/05/2010 23:15
Collateral warranties: an essential ingredient of a profitable development
It is axiomatic that anyone developing commercial property for investment purposes must let it to a good tenant, at the best rent, and as quickly as possible. While...
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29/05/2010 15:29
Desirable amendments to JCT building contracts
This analysis by David Lewis comprises a table listing (in order of importance, in the author's view) clauses in the JCT design and build contract (DB) which need amendment and...
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30/05/2010 17:25
First visit? Please read this ...
This part of the website contains articles on legal topics; and also some (I hope) useful aides-mémoire under the heading "Knowhow", which I hope gradually to expand.
Most of my...
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29/05/2010 16:43
Glossary of construction law expressions
Adjudication
A statutory dispute resolution method.
The Construction Act (Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996) allows any party to a...
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29/05/2010 16:02
How the CDM Regulations affect "clients"
If as part of a business you are commissioning any construction design or works, then you are a “client” within the meaning of the Construction (Design and Management)...
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29/05/2010 23:11
Ian Duncan Wallace QC
Last week [this article is dated 25 October 2006] I received this email from the Society of Construction Law to its members:
Some of you may have seen the following...
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02/06/2010 12:05
Important note and legal disclaimer about articles and knowhow
This part of the website contains articles on legal topics; and also some (I hope) useful aides-mémoire under the heading "Knowhow", which I hope gradually to expand.
Most...
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29/05/2010 15:16
Investigating the JCT Standard Forms of Agreement for Collateral Warranty
This article by David Lewis was published in Construction Law Journal in 1997, (1997) 13 Const. L.J. 305.
In 2000 it was cited with approval by Lord Goff of Chieveley and Lord ...
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29/05/2010 23:07
Iraq and the mutiny of the generals
At some unremembered moment in my late twenties I became a contrarian. I adopted the assumption that a majority is invariably wrong where it holds strong and stridently...
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29/05/2010 18:37
Performance bonds: securing the contractor’s performance
Performance bonds have long been used in the construction industry to protect building owners or developers (“employers”) from the consequences if the main contractor becomes...
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30/05/2010 18:59
Pursuant to the provisions
I feel a rant coming on. This time it’s a reprise of my long-standing obsession about the prolixity of legal drafting. The days when lawyers were paid by the folio are long...
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29/05/2010 18:42
Securing the construction project - legally
Developers are rightly concerned to protect the physical security of construction sites. But prudent developers and investors will be equally attentive to the need for...
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29/05/2010 15:50
Site unseen: some practical problems associated with ground conditions
Until the law of gravity is repealed, buildings will continue to rest on land, and the stability and utility of every proposed new building will continue to depend upon the...
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30/05/2010 18:07
Solicitors: the last Marxists?
The late Frank Johnson once simplified Karl Marx’s theory of surplus value thus: “a good’s value derives from the amount of work which went into making it."
As I think we all...
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30/05/2010 17:52
Some information about knowhow documents
I have found these "knowhow" documents to be useful references: sometimes for me, and sometimes for other people. They include:
a glossary of expressions used in...
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27/07/2010 17:03
Summary of insurance provisions in the JCT Standard Building Contract
Summary of insurance provisions, v1.docx (40,3 kB)
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30/05/2010 18:56
Termination for breach of contract: and the parties’ claims when this happens
As a general principle, if one party breaks his contract this doesn’t entitle the other party to stop performing his obligations.
Consistently with this principle, there is no...
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29/05/2010 19:06
The builder from hell – and how to avoid him
An occasional (and not usually very remunerative) client of the contentious construction lawyer is the houseowner who is experiencing the builders from hell. (About as...
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29/05/2010 15:17
The Consensus Principle
This article by David Lewis is based on the commended entry in the Hudson Prize Competition 2002, which is administered by the Society of Construction Law. It was...
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29/05/2010 15:18
The dangers to clients of using JCT forms of contract unamended
It is not always a good idea for clients to use JCT building contracts unamended.
Non-contentious construction lawyers will be familiar with the necessary amendments, which in...
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11/06/2010 21:15
The lawfulness of Israel's interception of the Free Gaza Flotilla
Commentators have alleged that Israel’s interception of the Free Gaza flotilla on 31 May 2010 was illegal.
For example Francis Boyle, professor of international law at...
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29/05/2010 15:20
The lawfulness of Israeli settlements
This article is one of David Lewis's occasional ventures into international law. He cites the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) as the chief reason why some commentators...
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30/05/2010 18:21
The party of the second part
Does it matter who you contract with?
In these real-life examples the names and businesses, and other non-material details, have been changed.
A basic principle is that you...
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30/05/2010 18:11
Under and in accordance with the provisions of ...
Acting for a developer on one of his projects, I came across a lengthy and obscure clause in an appointment drafted by his architects (or, more likely, their ...
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29/05/2010 22:57
When a contractor becomes insolvent
When a contractor becomes insolvent.docx (1,5 MB)
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