My Musings on Construction Law Week No:8
My Musings On Construction Law Week No:8
A Summary of My Musings on Construction Law Week No: 1A to Week No:7B
A recap (if you may) on what I hope is are essential knowledge that readers should know but are seldom aware of.
Week No:1A
I started off with the 1st topic on something I notice which was very prevalent with most Claims Practitioners that I have dealt with over my 30 years in the Industry.
A very common mistake is when they are working overseas, they tend to mistakenly apply the UK laws which they are very familiar in their new country of work. This is a mistake that I have observed over and over again, of course with different Claims Practitioners.
So the purpose of Week No:1A was to disseminate the knowledge that Construction Laws are not universal and depends very much on the type of Law ecosystem practised around the world.
Claims Practitioners must be mindful of the above and the 1st thing that they do when they are located to a new place of work overseas is to familiarised themselves with the Law Ecosystem of the country they are working in and adapt accordingly.
Best way to do this is to touch base and have many conversations with the local lawyers. You can guide them on construction (which they most probably are poor at) but they know the sources of law better. (See My Musings Week No:6A on “Sources of Law”)
Week No:1B
Having alerted readers that Construction Laws are not universal, I wanted to bring awareness and similarly bring caution to what I deemed the most profound and important change in FIDIC 2017 from FIDIC 1999 Suite of Contracts.
This was the changes made to Clause 20.2 whereby a double time bar was introduced in a single Clause. The introduction of a second time bar to Claims for cost and time brought about in a single stroke the death of Global Claims and requires the Contractor to beef up his Contract Organisation capability to a higher level in order not to be run foul of the claims procedures and have his claims ruled null and void.
Week No: 2A
I did some thinking and realise that very few Claims Practitioners are unaware and to some extent ignorant of an important (and in my opinion essential) rule if law known as “Procedural Ultra Vires”. It is essential as it has been used many times to nullify Certificates of Non-Completion, Termination or Determinations of Contracts, Imposition of LADs and Claims for tome and costs.
My purpose was to bring awareness to readers on the importance of understanding this essential but seldom known rule of law which can be applied to construction matters.
Week No: 2B
I was asked by a few readers, after the posting of “My Musings on Construction Law” Week No:1A, for some recommendations on reading Materials/References that they could refer to for guidance on dealing with Construction Claims and Disputes in the Middle East by virtue of the different Law Ecosystem practised there. I recommended two books which I believe are the best references that I have used.
Week No:3A and 3B
This was the week that I felt readers ought to be tipped on some Contract Administration techniques that I have used but have observed that the so called tips although simple and should have been second knowledge are seldom used and implemented in a lot of Projects. Something like tricks of the trade if I may say so.
Week No: 4A
This week I have touch on a very common and asked question which is “What is the difference between an Agreement and a Contract”. I have tried to break it down to laymen terms and in as simple language as possible.
If in your opinion that I have not so or as well as I hoped to, please comment below for feedback. Feel free to DM me as well your comments so that I can see howbest to amend the post further for better understanding.
Week No: 4B
This week I again touch on a principle of law that I feel is important and essential but seldom used by most Claims Practitioners due to unawareness.
It is common knowledge among lawyers but seldom passed on to other users perhaps it is a trade secret which they feel the less it is known outside their circle the better it is for them.
It is the “Four Corners Rule” or better known in legal terms as: “Expressum facit cessare tactitum” and “Expressio Unius, Exclusio Alterius”. I tried to break it down to laymen terms and hope that I have succeeded.
If in your opinion that I have not so or as well as I hoped to, please comment below for feedback. Feel free to DM me as well your comments so that I can see howbest to amend the post further for better understanding.
Week No: 5
I had quite a few enquiries from readers, who after reading through “My Musings on Construction Law No: 1B” asked for an elaboration of Clause 20.2 of FIDIC 207 as they felt that my posting on the matter was insufficient. I expanded and elaborated my understanding of Clause 20.2 and hope that readers are well aware of the measures and steps that they must take to protect themselves from being unwittingly time barred to claims for time and costs.
Week No: 6A
This week post was primarily in response to a reader from Nepal who observed that certain FIDIC Clause under the FIDIC Red Book 2017 conflicted with certain laws in his country. He wanted to know how to deal with this conundrum. After some discussions with him I realise that he was unaware of another universal rule of law which the legal circle refer to as the “Sources of Law”.
This post is to bring awareness to those who do not know the importance of the “Sources of Law” as it relates closely to my postings in Week No:1A. I advised that the
1st thing that anybody should do when they are located to a new place of work overseas is to familiarised themselves with the Law Ecosystem of the country they are working in and adapt accordingly. And
2nd thing that they should do is to ask and find out from the local lawyers the “Sources of Law” that are used in their new place of work and familiarised themselves with the ,said sources and adapt accordingly.
Week No: 6B
Apart from my observation in Week No:1A, I noticed another misconception which was and are still very prevalent with most Claims Practitioners that I have dealt with over my 30 years in the Industry.
Another very common misunderstanding is their conception of “Natural Justice” by mistakenly believing it to be natural law, fairness and good conscience. My post will hopefully put to rest this misconception of natural justice and readers are able to understand what “Natural Justice” is.
Week No: 7A
After two week of dealing with rules of law, law concepts and other quite heavy stuff, I decided to touch on something light and simple pertaining to Contract Administration like “What Makes A Good Notice”
Week No:7B
Based on quite a number of requests and enquiries from readers, who after reading through “My Musings on Construction Law No: 2A”, asked for more information on Procedural Ultra Vires and an elaboration on its usage. I did some quick research and found some landmark case laws in Malaysia which highlighted it usage. I believe what I did finally post is comprehensive hopefully is an eye opener to the judicial thinking behind how it can be used.
‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’
For those of you who found my weekly musings informative and helpful, I have posted 45+ posts at www.medium.com. You can access them there. You can use this link to find me at :-
https://lhchin.medium.com.
Hope to see you guys signing up as my followers.
For those of you who found my weekly musings informative and helpful, I have posted 58+ posts at www.medium.com. You can access them there. You can use this link to find me at :-
https://lhchin.medium.com.
Hope to see you guys signing up as my followers.
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Cheers, Happy Reading and Wishing you Good Health Always.
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