An acceleration of the drilling and construction of the Gotthard Base Tunnel over the past years has left its planners faced with the unusual prospect of the project being completed a year ahead of schedule. Work on the 57 km long railway tunnel through the Swiss alps, the longest in the world, was scheduled to be completed in 2017. However, following faster than anticipated progress in the excavation and construction of the tunnel, the consortium of companies responsible for the second phase of the works, the installation of the railway infrastructure, will propose the possibility of a 2016 hand-over date. read more »

Swiss construction companies have recently become the targets of take-overs by foreign contractors or investors. The first such acquisition was that of Losinger Group by the French construction giant Bouygues. The long-lasting battle between the UK investment fund Laxey and the largest Swiss construction group, Implenia, however ended differently, when Laxey sold its shareholdings after having failed to take over the Swiss group. read more »

Continuing our discussion on issues to consider when litigating a dispute with French connections (see our last post “A Growing Trend In French Construction Law? The Recognition of Mandatory Rules by the Court of Cassation”), the following contribution highlights a further issue to be considered by parties to a construction contract when litigating as, or [...] read more »

In recent years St. Petersburg has earned a reputation as an investment center with numerous greenfield projects. Greenfield projects involving the construction of industrial and sports facilities, transportation infrastructure, and residential developments, are underway. In the auto industry alone, four assembly plants have been built recently or are under construction (Toyota, Hyundai, General Motors, Nissan), [...] read more »

Commentary on the decision rendered by the third civil chamber of the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) on September 9, 2009
To protect the contractor from the risk of the owner’s insolvency, the law No. 94-475 of June 10, 1994 on the prevention and treatment of the difficulties encountered by contractors instituted the obligation for [...] read more »

In a judgment dated February 25, 2009 (Cour de cassation, civ. 3, 25 February 2009, No. P07-20.096), the Court of cassation, the highest court in the French judiciary, confirmed its previous decisions (Cour de cassation, chambre mixte, 30 November 2007, No. 06-14.006; Cour de cassation, 3e civ., 30 January 2008, No. 06-14.641) according to which [...] read more »

Important changes in licensing regulations for engineering surveys, design and construction works were introduced by Federal Law No 148-FZ dated July 22, 2008 on “Amendments to the Russian Town-Planning Code and some legislative acts of the Russian Federation”.
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