On 17-18 September 2010, the IBA International Construction Projects Committee will hold the 4th Biennial IBA Conference on Construction Projects from Conception to Completion. The Conference is supported by the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers, the ICC, the Society of Construction Law, and the IBA European Regional Forum. [...] read more »

By Gauthier Vannieuwenhuyse for Salans
Since 2002, France has been developing a well-thought-out national strategy on sustainable development that gathers the State, local representatives, eco-defending associations, private companies and civil society. In 2007, the “Grenelle de l’Environnement” project was launched in order to fight against climate changes by putting energy needs under control, protecting biodiversity and [...] read more »

Reviewing the wealth of commentary on the use of letters of intent in construction contracts, one might speculate that at the time the pyramids were being built some well-intentioned Egyptian lawyer was earnestly hammering out hieroglyphics warning his contemporaries of the potentially dire consequences of commencing construction works without a concluded contract in place. Nevertheless, [...] read more »

Throughout the ongoing financial crisis, and in spite of the glum news all around, I continued to receive fresh inquiries from prospective investors interested in the wind power industry in China. Small wonder, as this industry has doubled in size every year since 2006.
Last year, my observation on investment in the wind power industry was [...] read more »

On Monday, April 19, 2010, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia handed down “the longest-ever prison sentence” for a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violation. Charles Jumet was sentenced to 87 months in prison for conspiring to violate the FCPA and for making false statements to federal agents. Jumet, a vice president [...] read more »

Post prepared by Karina Chichkanova (Partner, Head of Salans’ St. Petersburg Real Estate Group) and Galina Pashkovskaya (Associate)
In connection with the constantly increasing volume of construction in Russia, one of the main issues that developers and construction companies encounter is the problem of managing the waste that results from wrecking or construction works, as well [...] read more »

Delays are of course a common problem in construction projects. French law (like English law) allows for a pre-estimation of damages for delay. However, the common law and the civil law approaches to such pre-estimation appear to differ, as pan-European construction professionals may have encountered.read more »

Mediation has become established in the West as a useful alternative to more confrontational and adversarial forms of dispute resolution. Here in Dubai it is uncommon, but in our experience the number of disputes is on the increase, so could it, or should it, have a role to play?
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The U.S momentum to build “green” is rapidly gaining popularity, with the office market currently leading the way toward more sustainable structures. The construction industry, including the publishers of form construction contracts, is scrambling to keep up. ConsensusDOCS, a relatively new group of industry organizations that is promoting a family of contract forms [...] read more »

Recap
After a diversion a fortnight ago to address the newsworthy events in Dubai, normal service resumes with this blog. The previous two blogs in this series considered decennial liability and liability for harmful acts under UAE law.
This blog will briefly consider whether it is possible to limit liability under your contract eg by including [...] read more »