The K&L Gates Qatar-based Construction & Infrastructure team received two awards during the recent 2019 Qatar Business Law Forum Awards, retaining the “Property and Construction Firm of the Year” title for a second consecutive year, as well as earning a new recognition for “Alternative Dispute Resolution Firm of the Year.”
Read MoreBy: Kevin Greene and Kiran Giblin
In the recent case of Mears v Costplan [2019] EWCA Civ 502, the Court of Appeal provided significant clarity as to how courts should interpret the widely used but seldom defined term, “practical completion” in the context of construction contracts. In essence, it was held that practical completion should only be prevented by patent defects (i.e. those that can be discovered by reasonable inspection) where such defects are considered “more than trifling.”
Read MoreBy Pawel Piotrowski, Matthew R. M. Walker and Amjad Hussain
The Q&A is part of the global guide to construction and projects. Areas covered include trends and significant deals, the main parties, procurement arrangements, transaction structures and corporate vehicles, financing projects, security and contractual protections required by funders, standard forms of contract, risk allocation, exclusion of liability, caps and force majeure. Also covered are material delays and variations, appointing and paying contractors, subcontractors, licences and consents, project insurance, labour laws, health and safety, environmental issues, corrupt business practices and bribery, bankruptcy and insolvency, public private partnerships (PPPs), dispute resolution, tax, the main construction organisations, and proposals for reform.
Read MoreBy Ian Meredith, Benjamin T. Mackinnon, K&L Gates, London
Introduction
Over the last decade, financing for commercial and investor-state arbitration / litigation claims has grown into a significant industry in certain jurisdictions with hundreds of cases now being funded by specialist investment funds (known as ‘third-party funders’). The benefits of third-party funding go well beyond solely the provision of funds to claimants who may otherwise be unable to bring worthy claims, and many commercial parties now use third-party funding as a means of managing risk. The increased availability of third-party funding and the potential to negotiate tailored solutions means that it is now becoming a routine issue for consideration at the outset of disputes and often before they even exist.
Over the course of several articles, we will examine some of the specific issues relevant to determining whether third-party funding is appropriate for your dispute, how best to approach third-party funders, and some of the issues that can arise during the course of a claim being supported by a third-party funder.
This article will provide an overview of third-party funding and highlight why it is becoming increasingly relevant for in-house lawyers dealing with construction disputes. The next articles in the series will examine some of the specific issues that can arise in respect of third-party funding and how best to approach funders.
By Joanna Łagowska and Łukasz Gembiś, K&L Gates, Warsaw
In Poland, for years now we have seen a steady increase in the number of commercial disputes referred to the common courts. According to the information provided in April 2016 by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction, Jerzy Szmit, the value of the claims that contractors brought to the court, or intend to bring, amounted to approximately €2.5 billion, covering 5000 cases (only regarding road construction disputes).
Although the efficiency of the Polish courts has improved in the last few years, the average duration of court proceedings in Poland is still very long. Amicable dispute resolution is one method to deal with the resulting delays (for example by way of conciliation or mediation procedures etc.). However, unfortunately, despite various initiatives to promote such methods by both the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Development, government bodies and state budgetary units only occasionally make use of procedures for the amicable settlement of disputes arising under civil law. It appears that the main factor preventing public investors from wider use of such amicable dispute resolution methods is a fear of incurring liability for breach of public finance discipline.
Welcome to the 27th edition of Arbitration World, a publication from K&L Gates’ International Arbitration Group that highlights significant developments and issues in international and domestic arbitration for executives and in-house counsel with responsibility for dispute resolution.
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In this edition, we include articles specifically relevant to the “MINT” countries of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey, tipped as the next economic giants by ex-Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill who coined the term “BRIC ” countries back in 2001. We look at energy reform in Mexico and its potential impact on commercial and investor-state dispute resolution and a recent decision regarding threshold jurisdictional requirements applicable to bilateral investment treaty (BIT) claims, with particular reference to Indonesia. We review some recent decisions of the Nigerian courts which offer support for arbitration, and current trends and future prospects for arbitration in Turkey.
More generally, we survey the tricky issues that can arise with respect to corruption and bribery in international arbitration. We examine the recent ruling by the Supreme Court of India in the Enercon India case and its implications on the drafting of arbitration agreements. We report on a recent case from Texas regarding the implications of allowing the deadline for rendering an arbitration award to pass. We also provide our usual update on developments from around the globe in international arbitration and investment treaty arbitration.
We hope you find this edition of Arbitration World of interest and we welcome any feedback (e-mail ian.meredith@klgates.com or peter.morton@klgates.com).
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