Construction Law is not just advanced corporate law, but a fine nexus of common law (or civil law, depending on jurisdiction), and statutory law (not just contract law)
The statutory law comprises many procesural as well substantial statutes relating to damages, the general contract law, the arbitration law, other dispute resolution laws (such as mediation act 2023 in India), any law governing commercial contracts (such as Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 of UK), and many others.
So much so that many celebrated Judges of the US courts and the highly acclaimed members of the US bar have spoken on professional platforms (Speech at the Bar or in Courts) that Construction Law us so complex and so specialised that there needs to be a dedicated bar and dedicated benches only for construction law disputes.
The problem arises from the disconnect among the professional framing/drafting the contract, the engineer who executes the contract, the lawyer who litigates in the court.
The need of the hour is to have continuity among the team of professional teams who draft & negotiate contracts, those who execute them and those who work on dispute resolution & litigation as well.
It is exactly the absnce of such a mechanism that leads to high instance of disputes in construction sector and the prolonged legal battles in construction disputes.
Partner at Jones Day, London. Visiting Professor, Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London. Adjunct Professor of Law, Hamad bin Khalifa University, Doha.
5moThanks, Paul, for the plug. I will reciprocate in my little presentation with a plug for one of your cases - Triple Point!