Newsletter
Information for members
December 2007

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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.        

Monday, 3 December 6.15pm
Joint TECBAR/SCL meeting
"To Melville Dundas or not to Melville Dundas?"
Speaker: The Hon Mr Justice Akenhead
Chairman: Colin Reese QC
Venue: National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place, London SW1
Please note: refreshments will be provided after the meeting

Details of the following meetings in 2008 are those known at present:

Tuesday,  5 February 6.30pm
“Compound Interest and Financing Claims – the Sempra Metals revolution”
Speaker: His Honour Judge Anthony Thornton QC
Venue: National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place, London SW1

Friday, 22 February  12.30pm  
The Society's Annual Lunch at the Brewery
Speaker: Sandi Toksvig (see separate item below)
Venue: The Brewery, Chiswell Street, London 

Tuesday,  4 March 6.15pm 
Speaker: Sarah Hannaford
Venue: National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place, London SW1

Tuesday, 18 March
Joint SCL/SNBCC Meeting
Speaker: Mr Justice Ramsey
Venue: Signet Library, Edinburgh
Organiser: Lindy Patterson

Tuesday, 8 April 6.15pm 
Speaker: Ben Legg
Venue: National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place, London SW1  

Tuesday, 6 May 6.15pm 
Presentation of the winning 2007 SCL Hudson Prize Paper
Winner to be announced
Venue: National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place, London SW1

Wednesday, 14 May 6.30pm
AGM & Annual Dinner (SCL members only)
Venue: Middle Temple Hall, London EC4

Tuesday, 3 June 6.15pm
Venue: National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place, London SW1

Future of the Society's website

Council has approved a plan to redevelop the website, in order to make it more useful for members. A number of new interactive features such as Forums and Blogs are envisaged, in addition to a full search facility and other enhancements. Members' ideas are urgently needed to ensure that what is produced meets the needs of members as fully as possible. Please could you take a few moments to fill in a simple online questionnaire at http://www.scl.org.uk/members/survey.php (only takes 3-4 minutes), or if that is not easy for you please email Edward Peters at webmaster@scl.org.uk with any ideas you have.  

Lunch at the Brewery

Members and their guests are invited to the Society's annual lunch at The Brewery, Chiswell Street on Friday, 22 February 2008. We are delighted to announce that the speaker at the event will be Sandi Toksvig: writer, broadcaster and presenter of Radio 4's News Quiz. The ticket price of £65 per person is the same as last year and, in addition, the Queen Charlotte will be available for after lunch drinks, which will avoid the disappointment of last year when some of our members and guests were asked to vacate their tables.

Please note that only paid up members can make bookings and that all places will be allocated on a first paid, first served basis. Block bookings by firms will be limited to 2 tables each (tables can seat 10 people). For further information please contact franceswhitehead@scl.org.uk Bookings can be made using the attached booking form, or at http://www.scl.org.uk/events/080222_brewerylunch/event080222application.php

Subscriptions

Over recent months SCL's activities have continued to develop. To support that ongoing development, Council has agreed to investments in upgrading our website and to supporting our forthcoming International Conference to be held in London next October. We are pleased to announce, notwithstanding ongoing growth, that subscriptions for the coming year will remain unchanged from last year. Subscriptions fall due on 1 January 2008. We particularly welcome payment direct through our secure website. All full members (with the exception of those who have joined the Society since 1 October 2007) will receive a renewal of membership invoice by post during December. Overseas e-members will receive an email reminder requesting renewal of membership online.
Ronan Champion, SCL Treasurer

SCL's official new logo

Council of SCL has decided to make some very slight adjustments to SCL's logo.  Adjustments are very subtle and basically comprise a slight simplification of the logo and the removal of the flute in the column. Otherwise the colour, layout and format is the same.  Why then have we made the change?  SCL is now very much an international organisation.  Our membership represents 50 different countries, and we now have a number of sister institutions in a number of countries around the world.  Together these SCLs and the UK SCL stand for an International Society of Construction Law.

It is important to differentiate between the various SCLs in different countries, but also at the same time to know that they all belong to the same principles.  Therefore, this logo has been produced in a variety of electronic formats to assist the reproduction of the logo around the world, and to provide for new SCLs to include their country name at the bottom of the logo.  It is hoped that this approach will mean a greater consistency of identity for SCLs around the world, and that members and the public will be easily able to identify an SCL outside of the UK that has been ratified wherever they are in the world, rather than a institution that has nothing to do with us but has adopted the same or a very similar name.

London Speaker Programme 

The next London meeting is on 3 December 2007 at 6.15pm at the National Liberal Club. Recently appointed High Court Judge, Mr Justice Akenhead, who will be more than well-know to members, will talk on “To Melville Dundas or not to Melville Dundas?”. As leading counsel, Mr Justice Akenhead represented the appellants in this, the first case on the Housing Grants Act to reach the House of Lords.

This is a joint meeting with TECBAR and is followed by Christmas drinks and canapés, hosted by the Society.

The end of the year is a good time to remind members that these meetings provide an excellent opportunity to hear leading speakers, exchange views with them, meet other members and even earn CPD points. Each year, two meetings are held jointly with TECBAR and one with the Society of Construction Arbitrators. Meetings usually last an hour or so, they are free to members and guests and there is a bar afterwards.

2007 has seen another full and varied year for the London programme, with topics ranging from delay and causation to turnkey contracts and time bar clauses to professional negligence. The most recent meetings have seen Peter Higgins and Philip Britton bring the Society up to date on ethics; one of Ireland's leading construction lawyers, Tim Bouchier-Hayes, explain the new Irish Government forms of contract (resulting in an exceptionally lively question session); and John Tackaberry Q.C. provoking strong views and debate with his masterly consideration of the costs regime applying to international arbitration in London.

The programme for 2008 is now also well-advanced. We have listened to feedback from members. As a result, we have endeavoured to introduce new topics of interest to members and we intend to provide more email reminders with more information on upcoming topics and speakers. Feedback and suggestions for speakers and topics continue to be gratefully received by the organising committee.

SCL Hudson Prize 2007

Entries are now invited for the 2007 Competition from all entrants with an interest in construction law and an idea which they wish to share. The length of essay is a maximum of 5,000 words and the judging panel places emphasis upon originality of thought and approach.

Eligible subjects can be drawn from any part of construction law widely defined, including (but not restricted to) construction and engineering contracts, contract administration, claims, arbitration and dispute resolution, construction litigation, the law of torts, company law, property law, taxation (although this must be related to construction) and any other aspect of law or procedure relevant to the construction industry. First prize is £1,500, second prize is £750. Entrants can also be highly commended or commended. All who are awarded prizes or commendations receive a year's free membership of the Society.

Past winners have included members of almost all the disciplines relating to construction law including barristers, solicitors (including a trainee) quantity surveyors, engineers, academics, architects, and several hybrids qualified in more than one discipline.

Further details of the competition, the closing date for which is 4th January 2008, can be obtained from the website. Any queries can be referred to me via Jackie Morris in the first instance at admin@scl.org.uk. Good luck to all entrants.

Anthony Lavers
Chair of the Judging Panel

Opportunities for Sponsorship - SCL International Conference 2008

As previously reported, the Society of Construction Law is delighted to be hosting the 2008 International Construction Law Conference in London . The conference will be held between 5th and 7th October 2008 with a welcoming event on the Sunday evening, a gala dinner on the Monday evening and the President's reception on the Tuesday evening so please make a note in your diaries. 

This event will attract many high profile speakers and SCL members and delegates from around the world. In order to ensure its success the SCL will be making available a limited number of elite sponsorship packages. If any of you would be interested in discussing sponsorship packages for this prestigious event please contact Frances Whitehead at franceswhitehead@scl.org.uk  

Alan Shilston BSc(Engineering) CEng FICE FIWEM FIHT FCIArb : an Obituary

All members will be familiar with Alan's name as a founder member of the Society and, until 2004, a member of Council. Others will have known his name from papers read to, and published by, the Society – or from his long-time Editorship of Arbitration , the journal of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The most fortunate of members, however, were those of us who knew and worked with him in the various learned bodies of which he was a member; not least being those remaining of the original dozen or so (of whom Alan was one) who laboured together at the Wig and Pen to bring this society into being. He was a man one could never forget. Sadly, Alan died on 17 th September 2007. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Alan William Shilston was born in 1922. As a consulting engineer practising in Surrey , he was held in no small repute - his specialisms relating to bridges, land drainage, maritime engineering, public health, railways, roads and tunnelling. Truly a man of many parts, of many accomplishments, he had experience in India , Bangladesh , Middle East and Finland . It was, though, in his work as an arbitrator, as a practitioner in other forms of dispute resolution, and in that editorship, that most readers of this note would know, or know of, him. Panels of Arbitrators on which his name appeared included the CIArb, the ICE and the European International Contractors.

A man of great erudition with an outstanding use of English, his writing was something to be savoured and pondered over. He also had a dry wit – a man whose company it was always a pleasure to share. Two recent compliments to Alan, by colleagues who have worked closely with him in the Society, were: ‘… a tireless worker for the cause of arbitration' and – a comment from which none of his colleagues would differ – ‘Alan was, above all, a very nice man' .

Ray Turner

Postscript: In tribute, it is the Society's intention to republish the paper written by Alan in 1992 entitled “The Obligation to Co-operate What does this involve?” which is currently available only as a hard copy. When republished, copies will be posted to all full members and emailed to all overseas e-members. It will then be readily available on the Society's website as a downloadable PDF copy for all future members.

Harold Crowter: An Obituary

Harold Crowter who died on Friday 2 nd November after a dignified and courageous battle against cancer was a respected expert witness and arbitrator.

He began professional life as a quantity surveyor in the public sector, before joining a large contractor. He rose to the post of Contracts Director at the remarkably early age of 29. He then set up Harold Crowter Associates. After an early involvement in international project management the practice established a formidable reputation in forensic dispute resolution work. Harold had an extremely wide ranging practice as expert conciliator and arbitrator both domestically and internationally. His practice was marked by the sheer breadth of the work that he did. Indeed the list of projects whose disputes he helped to resolve was extraordinary.

Harold also gave a great deal to the profession. He was Course Director on the Arbitration Course at the College of Estate Management at Reading . He was Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators during a particularly formative stage of the Institute's development. He was a much respected commentator and lecturer on topical issues. Poignantly he would now have been the Master of the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators.

Outside of his professional practice, Harold had a wide life. He was extremely active in his church and was a formidable supporter by deed and donation of many charities. Three of his passions were rugby, food and wine. He was able to indulge all three by his annual pilgrimage to the Hong Kong Sevens (where he used to wander around the stadium in the largest available size of the current version of the Harlequin's shirt). This was perfect for Harold because he could combine his leisure pursuits with the perfect networking opportunity.

He is survived by his wife Ruth, three children and five grandchildren. They have our deep sympathy.

A memorial service was held on 16 th November 2007 and was very well attended by friends and colleagues. Amongst the tributes was one of remarkable skill and courage from his son Ashley.

CIC

Following the talks on the contract given in London last October and in Edinburgh at the beginning of November, the CIC Consultants' Contract and CIC Scope of Services will be published on 10 th December. Further information can be obtained from CIC (www.cic.org.uk).

Advocacy Course 2007

The Society is pleased to announce that it will be holding its Advocacy Training Course again this autumn. It will be run at a location in central London over five evening sessions between 13 th November and 13 th  December. The course is open only to SCL members who are solicitors and will entitle each advocate to claim 12.5 CPD hours. The course is now fully subscribed but will be run again in autumn 2008. For further details, contract vicky.lee@dundas-wilson.com

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, 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.

New Members

Finally, we are pleased to welcome the new members who have recently joined the Society:

Marios Achilleos, Dhali , Cyprus
Barbara Alexander, Bristol
Jonathan Barrett, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Ravinder Bassan, Harrow
Emanuel Cardenas, Miraflores, Peru
Jonathan Carkeet, Swindon
Phillip Coady, London
Keith Gardner, Makati City, Philippines
Stephen Gethin, Landsdale, Australia
Mark Ilbury, Durban, South Africa
Willem Klinker, Prinsenbeek, Netherlands
Robert Moses, Bangkok, Thailand
David Owens, London
Michael Shires, Leeds
Siamak Soudagar, Rhyl
Miles Thompson, London
Rowan Turrall, Reading
Simon Walland, Swanley
Joseph Whelan, St Albans
Nigel Willifer, West Sussex

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