From the Co-Chairs – Construction Law International – June 2022

Dear ICP Committee members,

Although we took office in January 2022, as this is our first column as Co-Chairs of the ICP Committee, first and foremost, on behalf of all ICP members, we wish to thank Shona Frame and Ricardo Barreiro-Deymonnaz for their great work for our ICP Committee during their tenure. Although they had the misfortune to take office only a few months before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Shona and Ricardo did an excellent job in keeping ICP connected via webinars and Zoom meetings. We are honoured to be your new ICP Co-Chairs and realise that we have big shoes to fill.

We also take this opportunity to welcome again all new ICP officers who took office on 1 January. We are looking forward to working with our team of officers for the next two years.

At the time of writing this column, we see promising signs that the world is opening up after the pandemic, allowing again for in-person meetings. The first one was the much-anticipated ICP Working Weekend in Vevey, Switzerland, in May – which was originally scheduled for May 2020.

We would like to thank Sam Moss and his colleagues at Lalive for their patience and all the hard work to make this Working Weekend happen. It provided a great opportunity to make new friends and to reconfirm old friendships.

During the Working Weekend, each of our three subcommittees – Project Establishment, Project Execution and Dispute Resolution – organised an informative session. Papers or slides prepared for these sessions have been made available on the IBA website. We are looking forward to announcing the venue of the 2023 Working Weekend at our business meeting during the IBA Annual Conference in Miami.

The Working Weekend was followed immediately by the SEERIL Biennial Conference in Milan, Italy, from 16–18 May. Virginie Colaiuta, Vice-Chair of ICP, represented the ICP during this conference and moderated a session titled ‘The Future of Infrastructure Delivery’. This session considered the future of infrastructure delivery funding models, the investment environment and the impact of net zero commitments and the increased focus on ESG.

Given the improving Covid situation, it looks as though we will have an in-person Annual Conference again later this year. As you know, it will be held in Miami, United States, from 30 October to 4 November. Preparations for this conference are under way. ICP will present the following five sessions:

• Infrastructure projects in developing countries: challenges, opportunities and the role of multilateral agencies and their model contract forms

• A new era of collaboration? The rise of multiparty and alliancing contracting

• Sustainable project decommissioning – reality or utopia?

• Ridding a slippery slope: the balancing act of risk allocation in major construction and infrastructure projects

• Impact of ESG in construction and infrastructure projects – implications for financing, procurement strategies and delivery

On Wednesday 2 November, we will have our traditional ICP dinner, followed by the ICP excursion on Friday 4 November. We hope to welcome many ICP members at the Annual Conference.

As previously mentioned by Shona and Ricardo, the IBA has offered our Committee the opportunity to participate in a LinkedIn trial. We encourage all ICP members to join this group and to share their thoughts and ideas via this channel.

Finally, at the time of writing this column, joy about easing Covid-19 restrictions is overshadowed by the military conflict in Ukraine. In line with earlier statements by the IBA, ICP also condemns Russia’s war in Ukraine. We firmly believe that the rule of law should always be adhered to. This conflict, first of all, is taking a great toll on the brave people of Ukraine, but it has also caused a severe geopolitical and economic crisis.

Sadly, there is no saying how this crisis will unwind. Our hearts go out to all those innocent people who became entangled in this conflict.

Joe Moore
ICP Co-Chair
Hanson Bridgett, San Francisco
jmoore@hansonbridgett.com

Jean-Pierre van Eijck
ICP Co-Chair
SPANT Advocaten, Eindhoven
jvaneijck@spantlegal.com

Former Co-Chairs Shona Frame and Ricardo Barreiro-Deymonnaz pass the ICP hard hats to new Co-Chairs Joe Moore and Jean-Pierre van Eijck.