Construction Law International - June 2021 - From the Editors

Thomas Denehy Thursday 24 June 2021

Dear readers,

It is with great pleasure that we introduce the June 2021 issue of Construction Law International.

In this edition, we present the ‘diversity and inclusion’ questionnaire that is a recurring feature of this journal, along with our ‘FIDIC around the world’ series. Our first contributor to this feature is Dr Kourosh Kayvani, a Principal at HKA with expertise in specialist engineering, expert witness, and failure investigation, as well as having a distinguished history of directorships, industry accolades, academic appointments and speaking engagements. We are grateful for the insights and personal experiences he offers readers.

For our arbitration updates sections, Gabriel Muleros Clas considers the recent FIDIC new venture, FIDIC Credentialing, and the impact of the introduction of training and certification requirements for industry professionals. Albert Bates Jr, Zachary Torres-Fowler and Hailey Barnett provide an overview of the 2021 International Centre for Dispute Resolution Rules. For our third update, Geoffrey Smith considers the World Bank’s new mechanism allocating a specific role to Dispute Avoidance Boards with the aim of reducing the risk of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment on projects financed by the World Bank.

Moving to our country updates, Stefan Pislevik and Natalie Keir discuss the recent United Kingdom High Court decision in Republic of Sierra Leone v SL Mining Ltd on satisfying tiered dispute resolution clauses as a pre-condition to arbitration. We are fortunate to have two updates from India, from Gagan Anand and Shivani Anand. The first considers the introduction of a bill to the Indian parliament that seeks to address corrupt practices in securing contracts or arbitral awards. The second proposes a reform by way of unifying India’s construction laws. Lastly, Luis Moreno provides us with an update on the changes to Panama’s public procurement law.

For our feature articles, Marianna Tsatsanifou takes an in-depth look at contractors’ claims for expropriation of contractual rights in the context of international investment treaties.

Zia Akhtar considers the impact of Brexit on Eastern European workers in the construction industry, and the implications of the end of free movement in the European Union and restricted migration to the UK. Finally, Mino Han and JB Kim consider whether a contractor is entitled to recover additional costs incurred as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic by invoking a variation clause in the contract.

We include one review in this issue of Construction Law International. Dr Donald Charrett reviews Corbett & Co’s FIDIC 2017 – A Practical Legal Guide.

We thank our contributors for their insightful articles and we hope you will enjoy reading this edition.

From our diversity and inclusion series, FIDIC around the world, or country updates and feature articles, we invite you all to contribute your thoughts and insights by submitting your articles to CLInt.submissions@int-bar.org.

Thomas Denehy

ICP Committee Editor, IBA International Construction Projects Committee

Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Sydney

thomas.denehy@corrs.com.au

Dear readers,

It is with great pleasure that we introduce the June 2021 issue of Construction Law International.

In this edition, we present the ‘diversity and inclusion’ questionnaire that is a recurring feature of this journal, along with our ‘FIDIC around the world’ series. Our first contributor to this feature is Dr Kourosh Kayvani, a Principal at HKA with expertise in specialist engineering, expert witness, and failure investigation, as well as having a distinguished history of directorships, industry accolades, academic appointments and speaking engagements. We are grateful for the insights and personal experiences he offers readers.

For our arbitration updates sections, Gabriel Muleros Clas considers the recent FIDIC new venture, FIDIC Credentialing, and the impact of the introduction of training and certification requirements for industry professionals. Albert Bates Jr, Zachary Torres-Fowler and Hailey Barnett provide an overview of the 2021 International Centre for Dispute Resolution Rules. For our third update, Geoffrey Smith considers the World Bank’s new mechanism allocating a specific role to Dispute Avoidance Boards with the aim of reducing the risk of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment on projects financed by the World Bank.

Moving to our country updates, Stefan Pislevik and Natalie Keir discuss the recent United Kingdom High Court decision in Republic of Sierra Leone v SL Mining Ltd on satisfying tiered dispute resolution clauses as a pre-condition to arbitration. We are fortunate to have two updates from India, from Gagan Anand and Shivani Anand. The first considers the introduction of a bill to the Indian parliament that seeks to address corrupt practices in securing contracts or arbitral awards. The second proposes a reform by way of unifying India’s construction laws. Lastly, Luis Moreno provides us with an update on the changes to Panama’s public procurement law.

For our feature articles, Marianna Tsatsanifou takes an in-depth look at contractors’ claims for expropriation of contractual rights in the context of international investment treaties.

Zia Akhtar considers the impact of Brexit on Eastern European workers in the construction industry, and the implications of the end of free movement in the European Union and restricted migration to the UK. Finally, Mino Han and JB Kim consider whether a contractor is entitled to recover additional costs incurred as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic by invoking a variation clause in the contract.

We include one review in this issue of Construction Law International. Dr Donald Charrett reviews Corbett & Co’s FIDIC 2017 – A Practical Legal Guide.

We thank our contributors for their insightful articles and we hope you will enjoy reading this edition.

From our diversity and inclusion series, FIDIC around the world, or country updates and feature articles, we invite you all to contribute your thoughts and insights by submitting your articles to CLInt.submissions@int-bar.org.

Thomas Denehy

ICP Committee Editor, IBA International Construction Projects Committee

Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Sydney

thomas.denehy@corrs.com.au