KATIE LISZKA* looks at the circumstances in which the beneficiary of an on-demand performance bond may be prevented from calling on the bond for reasons outside the terms and conditions of the bond itself.
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In the Society of Construction Law Delay and Disruption Protocol, four retrospective delay analysis techniques are referred to, as follows:
1. As-Planned v As-Built.
2. Impacted As-Planned.
3. Collapsed As-Built.
4. Time Impact Analysis.
A brief analysis of each of these delay analysis techniques is given below.
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Main Contract Dispute
Subcontractors being lower down the food chain are reliant upon contractors for payment. Where disputes arise over the amount a main contractor is obliged to pay to the subcontractor the usual ” he who alleges must prove ” argument comes to the fore. If the main contractor makes a claim against a subcontractor and as a result reduces the amount due for payment or seeks to recover actual payment from the subcontractor then the shoe is on the other foot. …
COURTS PROVIDE PROTECTION FOR SUBCONTRACTOR IN CLAIMSRead More »
Legal debates come up frequently in the construction industry. No matter what the problem is or whose fault it actually was, professionals and project owners alike seem to be good at playing the blame game. When problems related to a structure’s stability or safeness arise, contractors generally find themselves having to resolve the problem in one way or another. …
Why eco-friendly builders should research green performance bondsRead More »
Construction Lifecycle Risk Management Conference
Date: 17th & 18th April 2011
Venue: Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Welcome and Opening Remarks by the Chairperson, Samer H Skaik
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning.
I am delighted to join our speakers in welcoming you all and open this Conference on “Construction lifecycle Risk Management” in Abu Dhabi.
It gives me great pleasure and honor to chair this conference. I am so happy that we have in this hall, dedicated individuals from different backgrounds and expertise, from various industries across the GCC region. Those delegates who travelled for miles remind us how important this conference is. Thank you all for coming.
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Opening and Closing remarks of Construction Lifecycle Risk Management ConferenceRead More »
| The FIDIC Contracts and Construction Law |
| Free Open Lecture |
| by Professor Dr. Nael G. Bunni Date: Friday, 1st April, 2011 |
Variations Clause
Most standard forms of contract include a clause under which the employer or his representative is able to issue an instruction to the contractor to vary the works which are described in the contract. A change in shape of the scheme, the introduction of different materials, revised timing and sequence are all usually provided for by the variations clause. It will also usually include a mechanism for evaluating the financial effect of the variation and there is normally provision for adjusting the completion date. In the absence of such a clause the employer could be in a difficulty should a variation to the works be required. The contractor could either refuse to carry out the work or undertake the work and insist upon payment on a quantum meruit or fair valuation basis. Calculation of the price for the extra work applying this method could involve payment well in excess of the contract rates. …
WHEN DOES A VARIATION IN CONSTRUCTION BECOME A SEPARATE CONTRACT?Read More »
It has been said that an army marches on its stomach. Contractors and subcontractors in the construction industry run on cash. Lord Denning many years ago made the oft repeated phrase that cash flow is the lifeblood of the construction industry and this sentiment is still relevant today. Estimators when preparing tenders usually concentrate on building profits into the price. Of equal importance is the amount of working capital required to fund the contract and the need to keep the amount to a minimum. The payment terms are therefore crucial to every contractor and subcontractor. Certification and payment should be the subject of careful strategy and planning. …
By Dr Jay Palmos
To date, both the public and private sector’s attempts to resolve this problem have failed. Security of Payment (SOP) style legislation has successfully solved this issue in other jurisdictions, and should be considered in Dubai before we lose the best sub-contractors and suppliers to other more reliably paying regions. Just last month, Laing O’Rourke closed its Middle East division of 20 000. The loss of this and other superior-grade contractors signifies that the presently available source of high-quality contractors has diminished. …
By Dennis Brand
Conciliation is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process whereby the parties to a dispute agree to utilize the services of a conciliator, who then meets with each of the parties separately in an attempt to resolve their differences. Conciliation differs from arbitration in that the conciliation process, of itself, has no legal standing, and differs from mediation in that the parties seldom, if ever, actually face each other across the table in the presence of a conciliator.
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Despite the harsh lessons learnt over the latter part of 2009 and first quarter of 2010 it is still patently obvious that parties to contracts are falling into a number of age old pitfalls, many of whom are convinced that they have no other viable choice but to accept top-down back-to-back arrangements and in some cases a scramble of documents that barely resemble a contract at all.
There is still an overwhelming market tendency to order mobilisation and commence work on the back of a very brief Letter of Intent (LOI), particularly if the commissioned works are minor works or low value. This is a particularly high risk practice. …
