Kluwer Construction Blog

It is with much regret that this is the final post for Kluwer Construction Blog. Over the last 14 months the blog has informed us of significant infrastructure and energy projects from South America to Europe and Asia, kept us up to speed on developments in dispute resolution processes in the Gulf, Asia Pacific, Australia and the U.S. and given insights and advice about practical issues facing contractors around the world .We have very much enjoyed publishing and following the blog, but unfortunately supply has outweighed demand. We have sadly realized that there just isn’t enough of a call for the blog at this current point in time.

The good news – all of our fantastic contributions wil [...]

Arbitration has become the black sheep of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes in Australia’s domestic sphere.  Over the last two decades arbitration has descended into a costly, rigid and time consuming process.

As noted in my July 2010 blog ‘A return to Arbitration?’, Australia’s domestic arbitration regime is currently the subject of legislative reform with each state and territory agreeing to adopt the Model Law. 

This raises the questions:

• will adoption of the Model Law improve the effectiveness of arbitration as an ADR process and make it a more attractive ADR option, or
• will its success depend on arbitrators taking full advantage of the new legislative framework in managi [...]

Recent gas-fired combined cycle power plant construction projects in Switzerland have not proceeded beyond the planning stage as a result of the Swiss CO2 law, which provides that 70% of their emissions must be offset by means of measures taken inside Switzerland. So far, such measures have been considered to be too costly, pushing a number of electricity companies to suspend major gas power plant projects.

However, a project for the construction of a 400 MW gas-fired combined cycle plant on the site of an existing plant in the alpine canton of Wallis has taken a large step forward. The plans to offset the 600,000 to 700,000 tons of CO2 expected to be emitted by the Chavalon plant once com [...]

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.

The event is co-chaired by David Robertson of Fenwick Elliott LLP in London and Cecilia Vidigal Monteiro de Barros of Xavier Bernardes Bragança in São Paulo, and like earlier editions, it will take place in Brussels.

Speakers from different jurisdictions will cover topics on recent developments in construction i [...]

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 natural resources, creating a health-friendly environment, setting up sustainable production and consumption habits, and promoting ecological development strategies that foster both employment and competitiveness. It is a two-step program that, in 2009, led to the ad [...]

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, despite the plentiful guidance cautioning contractors against relying on letters of intent which has been produced by legal professionals in more modern times, a significant proportion of construction projects do, in fact, proceed on the basis of a letter of intent. This practice is particularly common withi [...]

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 that the timing might be right, but investors should be patient and be prepared for challenges.

In fact, some international wind farm developers have pulled out under the pressure of continuing low returns on investment.

Some of the major causes of low returns are as follows:

(a) difficult grid connection – the grid enterprises managing the state monopo [...]

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 of Ports Engineering Consultants Corp. (PECC), pled guilty to paying over $200,000 in bribes to high-ranking Panamanian government officials between 1997 and 2003 in exchange for maritime contracts to maintain lighthouses and buoys along Panama’s waterways. (PECC’s president, John Warwick, also has pled guilty to the same conduct and is scheduled to [...]

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 as “abandoned” waste located at the land plot under development.

“Ownership of and responsibility for waste” provisions of Russian law and construction work contracts or waste removal and disposal contracts in Russia are very important and should not be ignored by the parties.

The key legal issue that arises [...]

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.