Newsletter
Information for members
June 2003

Previous issue: May 2003
Next issue: July 2003

Programme

A reminder that the general evening meetings are free of charge to members and guests and that no booking is necessary

AGM News

Seven members of the Society competed for the five available places on Council this year. As with last year, all members had the opportunity to vote by postal ballot or by voting at the Annual General Meeting. The five successful candidates were: Richard Bayfield, Jonathan Hosie, Corrina King, Anthony Lavers and Jocelyn Taylor.

Jim Pragnell, who stood down from Council, and Jim Daniels were not successful.

We wish to express our great thanks to Jim Pragnell for his work as Treasurer over the past year and his dedication to initiating improved cost monitoring processes for the Society.

A copy of the Chairman's Report is enclosed with this newsletter.

SCL Honorary Member

Congratulations go to Professor Rudi Klein! The Constitution provides that Council may elect Honorary Members on account of their distinction and eminence, and we are pleased to announce that Council has elected him an Honorary Member of the Society.

The Members Directory

The Society's database is currently being made ready for the printing of the next edition of the Members Directory, which will be posted to over 1500 members of the Society. Please, therefore, make sure that we have your correct contact details!

Those of you, almost 700 so far, who have already registered on the website can check your own details online. Those of you who have not, or who have no access to the website, can either check the address label on the envelope in which this newsletter was sent, or call Jackie Morris on 01235 770606 for confirmation.

Please note that this is a Members Directory and so anyone who has not renewed membership this year (ie, paid their 2003 subscription) will not be included in the Directory.

SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol - Reprint

Due to heavy demand it has been necessary to reprint the Protocol and the opportunity has been taken to amend some typographical errors. New copies are dated "October 2002, March 2003 reprint" and the following amendments have been made:

1. Page 1 - Contents page: Guidance section 2 corrected from "Guidelines on dealing with extensions
of time during the course of the project" to "Guidelines on preparing and maintaining programmes
and records".
2. Page 17 - Paragraph 1.4.12, line 6: "employer" amended to "Employer".
3. Page 51 - list of contributors: "Dan Octavian" amended to "Octavian Dan".
4. Page 67 - paragraphs numbered 4.3.12.1 and 4.3.12.2 amended to 4.3.12 and 4.3.13.
5. Page 71 - Appendix C, initial paragraph, line 6: "employer" amended to "Employer".
6. New figure 7 substituted because part of the figure had been cut off in the original print.
7. Website address amended to www.scl.org.uk

You will be able to find a list of these amendments at: http://www.eotprotocol.com/

TCC Users Committee meeting 25 June 2003

Victoria Russell will be representing SCL at the next TCC Users Committee meeting, which will be taking place on 25 June. If there are any points which you would like her to raise at the meeting, please let her know by e-mail to victoriarussell@scl.org.uk

Construction Conciliation Group

The Construction Conciliation Group ("CCG") was launched on 1 May 2003. The CCG's aim is quite simply to provide a cost effective dispute resolution procedure principally aimed at disputes concerning residential occupiers and their builders (or disputes between residential occupiers and their architects or other professionals).

The adjudication legislation does not cover disputes involving residential occupiers. In the absence of a contract, such as the minor works contract which contractually provides for adjudication, disputes between residential householders and their builders often end up in the County Court. These disputes are usually (although not always) of low value, such that the legal fees are disproportionate to the amount in dispute. However, legal fees are not the only issue in respect of these types of disputes. Such disputes are often highly emotionally charged. They have the capacity to absorb considerable time and costs that frequently end up exceeding the sums in dispute.

The essentials of the CCG procedure provides:

" A pre-agreed, fixed period with a fixed price process

" A fixed period of 28 days within which a fixed duration mediation is to be held. If no agreement is reached at the mediation, then a binding enforceable recommendation is made by the conciliator (subject to later litigation/arbitration).

" The amount of documentation is severely limited.

The parties can simply log onto the website (http://www.ccgroup.org.uk/) in order to choose a conciliator. The rules can be downloaded for free. If the parties cannot agree upon a conciliator then the CCG will appoint one for a fee of £50. The fixed timescale and fixed fee is aimed at introducing an economical way to resolve these disputes. Further, in the absence of a mediated settlement, the parties know that a recommendation will be made based upon the documents, submissions and representations made. If one of the parties does not wish to accept the recommendation then that party must issue a notice of dispute within 28 days of the recommendation and also take steps to commence either legal proceedings or arbitration within three months otherwise the recommendation will become finally binding.

The CCG hope that the procedure will provide an economic manner within which to resolve construction disputes with homeowners. The procedure can of course be used for any construction dispute should the parties wish to adopt the CCG's conciliation rules.

For further information, view the website http://www.ccgroup.org.uk/ or contact the publicity officer, Nicholas Gould on by email (telephone 020 7956 9354).

Special public lecture at King's College London

On Thursday 19 June 2003, John Uff QC CBE, founding Nash Professor of Engineering Law, will deliver the fourth Michael Brown lecture. 'Duties at the legal fringe' will discuss ethics in construction law. The lecture is at 6.30pm in the Great Hall, Strand Campus, followed by a drinks reception. All are welcome, but please indicate your intention to attend to Sue Hart on 020 7848 2643 or by email to susan.hart@kcl.ac.uk

A new SCL Construction Law seminar: Introduction to the Basics

The Junior Committee of SCL and the Centre of Construction Law at King's College London have together devised a new half-day seminar entitled Construction Law: Introduction to the Basics. The seminar is intended for those considering construction as a possible specialisation and for junior or recently appointed staff who are encountering construction issues in their work for the first time. The purpose is to provide a general introduction to many of the widely encountered principles and also discuss some of the current important topics in the area. Subjects that will be covered in outline include procurement, PFI, standard form contracts, claims, defects, and the range of dispute resolution techniques currently used in the industry.

The first Construction Law: Introduction to the Basics takes place on Tuesday 9 September 2003 from 3pm to 6.30pm in room 11F of the Strand Campus at King's College; a buffet with wine follows, on the mezzanine overlooking the Thames. Professor Phillip Capper (Lovells & King's) will provide the opening lecture. Confirmed speakers also include Nicholas Gould (Fenwick Elliott & King's) and Philip Britton (King's). The all-inclusive cost (including documentation and supper) is £80 for SCL members, £95 for non-members; there will be discounts for more than one delegate from the same firm or company.

All SCL members will be sent further details and booking information during late May/early June. To register your interest now or for further information, contact Susan Hart at King's College on susan.hart@kcl.ac.uk or 020 7848 2643.

SCL Papers

All the Hudson Prize winning papers can now be found on the Society's website, and a printed copy of the second prize winning entry, by Hamish Lal, is enclosed with this newsletter.

In addition, the paper given by Martin Howe in London earlier in the year on the new 'Be' Collaborative Construction Contract (the revolutionary new partnering contract to be published by Collaborating for the Built Environment - the merged Reading Construction Forum and Design and Build Foundation) can be found on the website.

King's College Construction Law Association Summer Party: London Architectural Tour by River Boat "The Westminster"

The Association's summer party will take place on the river Thames taking in the architectural sights of City Hall, the (new) Hungerford Bridge, Millennium (wobbly) Bridge, Swiss Re Tower, London Eye, Tate Modern, Canary Wharf, Lloyds, the Dome. Commentary will be provided by Carmel Lewin of Richard Rogers Partners and Richard Honey of Cyril Sweett. Bar available on board.

Thursday 5 June 2003; 6.30pm for a departure at 7pm prompt. The Westminster - Westminster Pier, Thames Embankment. £12.50 for KCCLA members, £15 for SCL members and £17.50 for guests. Please make cheques payable to "KCCLA" and send them with the names of the members and guests to: Richard Honey, Cyril Sweett, 60 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8AQ. Enquiries on 020 7061 9080 or richard.honey@cyrilsweett.com. The KCCLA's website is at www.kccla.org.uk.

Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida: 22-25 June

SCL member Kenji P Hoshino will be presenting a paper at this meeting, entitled "Surviving the Daubert Challenge: A CPM Expert's Perspective". He would like to organize an informal get-together with other US based SCL members who may be attending.

For details, contact Kenji Hoshino at khoshino@cmrpublishing.com

Web address for the AACEI is: http://www.aacei.org/annualmeeting/welcome.php

Invitation to contribute to the Newsletter

If any member has an item related to construction law that they 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.

SCL Web Site: www.scl.org.uk

For those members new to the Society and/or to the www, our website is a constant source of new information. Items which have arrived too late to be published in a newsletter, or details of meetings which have been arranged after the seasonal Diary has gone to print, will be posted on the website. It is where you will find a list of over 100 titles of past papers, quite a few of which are available as free downloadable files. In addition, the website has links to more than 50 other sites considered to be of interest to members.

If you think something is missing which should be there (so long as it is not a commercial site) then please get in touch with the publications editor, Frances Paterson

SCL Membership

Finally, we are pleased to welcome the following new members to the Society during May:

Regional Coordinators

Are you moving? Will your contact details change? Do we have your email address? Please tell Membership Administration so that we can keep our records up to date.

Membership/Administration
67 Newbury Street
Wantage, Oxon., OX12 8DJ
Tel: 01235 770606
Fax: 01235 770580
Email