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R (Greyhound Board of Great Britain Ltd) v Welsh Ministers [2026] EWHC 670 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling reinforces the constitutional divide between the courts and the legislature. It explains that the scheme and framework of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (GWA 2006) embody that separation of powers, and that any judicial attempt to recognise and enforce a common law obligation on Welsh Ministers to consult prior to introducing legislation in the Senedd would trespass upon that boundary. This is not a departure from established principle; case law has already upheld comparable rules for lawmakers in Scotland and at Westminster. However, this is the first express confirmation of the position for Welsh lawmakers, and the first time this dimension of the GWA 2006 has been analysed in such depth. The court examined earlier
The solution arrived through the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), a quasi‑judicial body handling mass claims, created under UN Security Council Resolution 687. By addressing environmental harm—most notably via its ‘F4’ claim class—the UNCC set a seminal benchmark shaping how international law and contemporary arbitral panels allocate financial responsibility for wartime ecological devastation. With present-day wars in areas such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East bringing dam breaches, strikes on chemical facilities, and the burning of farmland, the UNCC’s legacy endures as an essential reference point for states, global investors, and companies engaged in post‑conflict arbitration. The F4 claims: Quantifying the unquantifiable Prior to the 1990s, mechanisms in international law for war reparations overwhelmingly favoured property loss, foregone earnings, and bodily injury. The natural world was commonly treated as a mute, non-compensable victim of armed hostilities...
Understanding the farming business as a business Many farms still use long-standing structures that arose by habit, not strategy. Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common. While once effective, such setups can cause major issues around succession, tax planning and involving the next generation. A corporate team can take a fresh, business-led view of the farm, asking: Who owns the land and other critical assets? Who manages daily operations? Who carries the risk and who enjoys the return? What is the enduring plan for succession? From this review, the team can confirm whether the current setup is fit for purpose or if an alternative — for example an updated partnership agreement, a company, a limited liability partnership, or a blended model — would better meet the family’s aims. Tax efficiency through joined-up advice Tax sits at the centre of most
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Contractual interpretation and termination: Misunderstanding of contract terms leads to repudiatory breach ( BNP Paribas Depository Services v Briggs & Forrester) BNP Paribas Depository Services Ltd and another v Briggs & Forrester Engineering Services Ltd – [2024] EWHC 2903 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? The judgment serves as a timely prompt to approach amendments to industry-standard templates with care. The court will apply the wording agreed, rather than what was discussed beforehand. Where a standard form underlies the bargain, bespoke conditions typically dominate, and, as between competing terms, the specific will trump the general. Exercise caution when modifying standard form agreements. The courts give effect to the language used. As a rule, pre-contract negotiations are inadmissible when construing the contract. Where a standard form underpins the deal, special conditions carry greater weight, unless displaced by the...
Introduction The wave of insolvencies across the construction sector is profoundly troubling, with firms still acutely exposed. Although contractor failure is not new in a market defined by thin profit margins, fixed‑price contracts and cash‑hungry, cash‑intensive delivery, ISG’s recent collapse starkly illustrates persistent challenges: heavy dependence on cash flow and the difficulty of steering multiple stakeholders on major, complex projects. Such pressures pervade large‑scale schemes throughout the industry. With the new Labour government unveiling ambitious infrastructure and housing programmes, the insolvency question is even more pressing, and lessons must be learnt to avert future industry failures. In this article, we outline the principal causes and the usual red flags that signal distress, before exploring particular insolvency concerns from both employer and contractor viewpoints. Building on that analysis, we then set out practical measures for managing risk effectively, followed by...
In this issue: Contract law Building safety Litigation Arbitration Tax for construction lawyers Standard form contracts Construction industry news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Construction trackers Contract law Employer deemed out of time in issuing a notification on the Monday after a Sunday deadline ( My Contracts v 74 Hamilton Terrace) In My Contracts Ltd v 74 Hamilton Terrace Freehold Ltd [2024] EWHC 2896 ( TCC), the TCC issued a declaration at the contractor’s request concerning the construction of a clause that imposed a deadline for the employer to notify costs for which the contractor was responsible. The court concluded the employer missed the deadline by serving the notice on the Monday immediately after the final day for service, which had fallen on a Sunday. Central to the decision was that the clause made no...
My Contracts Ltd v 74 Hamilton Terrace Freehold Ltd [2024] EWHC 2896 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision offers a timely reminder of the way time periods are to be construed within construction contracts, and acts as a useful sequel to the judgment in Elements ( Europe) Ltd v FK Building Ltd, which likewise involved a JCT form of contract. At bottom, though, it principally reiterates that the courts will give effect to the contractual text as agreed, and will decline to interpolate wording into a clause that the parties neither drafted nor intended. What was the background? My Contracts Ltd ( MCL) and 74 Hamilton Terrace Freehold Ltd (74HTF) entered into a contract based on the JCT Design and Build Contract 2016 edition, incorporating extensive bespoke amendments and dated 2 March 2023 (the Contract), for the execution of works...
The Czech Republic v Diag Human Se and another [2024] EWHC 2102 ( Comm), [2024] EWHC 503 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling brings to a close a dispute spanning decades between Diag Human SE, a Lichtenstein entity, and Mr Stava, a Swiss citizen (together, the ‘ Investors’), on the one hand, and the Czech Republic (and, before it, Czechoslovakia) on the other, and turns on remarkable facts, events and surrounding circumstances. To grasp the factual matrix in full, one must first consider the March Judgment, since the present decision does not rehearse the narrative or the chronology of the many and varied proceedings between the parties. This decision is noteworthy for its careful and expansive treatment of what constitutes an ‘investment’ and an ‘investor’ in public international law—an issue not previously explored by the Commercial Court in such depth. It will...
In this issue: Adjudication Building safety Environmental issues Litigation Construction industry news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Construction trackers Adjudication Costs penalty for adjudication enforcement claimant withholding financial information pre-action ( Complete Ceiling and Partitioning Systems Ltd v DE1 Ltd) In Complete Ceiling and Partitioning Systems Ltd v DE1 Ltd [2024] EWHC 2800 ( TCC), the TCC declined to grant the successful claimant its enforcement costs, owing to a failure to supply, before action, material that would have reassured the defendant about solvency concerns and dispelled its understandable doubts. Authored by James Malam, barrister at Exchange Chambers. See News Analysis: Costs penalty for adjudication enforcement claimant withholding financial information pre-action ( Complete Ceiling and Partitioning Systems Ltd v DE1 Ltd). Building safety Welsh Government announces updates to building safety reforms The Welsh Government has set out updates to building safety reforms in Wales, highlighting continued progress to improve the design,...
Sheriff Appeal Court dismisses ‘multiple contracts’ defence to adjudication enforcement ( George Beattie & Sons v Gareloch) George Beattie & Sons Ltd v Gareloch Support Services ( Plant) Ltd [2024] SAC ( Civ) 43 What are the practical implications of this case? This decision reinforces the courts’ firm approach to enforcing adjudication awards, making clear that jurisdictional challenges will not be entertained unless clearly and consistently articulated. It stresses the need to state any objection to an adjudicator’s jurisdiction expressly and to maintain that reservation. In this matter, the contractor asserted during the adjudication that the parties were bound by multiple contracts, yet seems not to have gone on to make an explicit jurisdictional challenge on that footing. The consequence was that, even if the “multiple contracts” contention could have undermined the adjudicator’s remit, the appellant could not rely on it to resist...
Complete Ceiling and Partitioning Systems Ltd v DE1 Ltd [2024] EWHC 2800 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment confirms that an enforcing party cannot, without risking an adverse costs order, sensibly decline to give proper answers to a defendant’s enquiries about its prospective capacity to repay the adjudicated sum if required later, notwithstanding that the onus of establishing inability to pay sits with the party seeking a stay. The avenues to oppose enforcement of an adjudicator’s decision are narrow, and the defendant bears a demanding evidential burden to bring itself within those grounds. Accordingly, those pursuing enforcement often see advantage in disclosing the bare minimum to the defendant, hoping the other side will discharge the award rather than gamble on a stay application when the nature of any responsive evidence remains uncertain. This ruling should reassure...
In this issue: JCT contracts Adjudication Construction industry news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content New Q& As Construction trackers JCT contracts Measured Term Contract 2024 The JCT has published the 2024 Measured Term Contract ( MTC) together with its companion guide. Reference versions of both will be available shortly on Lexis+® Construction under the sub-topic ‘ JCT contracts 2024’ within the main topic ‘ Standard form construction contracts’, and can also be accessed via Practice Note: JCT contracts 2024—reference copies. See LNB News 13/11/2024 31......
Leonardo Hotel Management ( UK) Ltd v Galliford Try and another [2024] CSOH 43 What are the practical implications of this case? This decision offers useful direction on the correct application of the Prescription and Limitation ( Scotland) Act 1973 ( PL( S) A 1973), identifying when the prescriptive period should commence and in what situations its start can be postponed. It also underscores that the saving provisions within the PL( S) A 1973 are highly dependent on the facts, and that this area of law is still evolving. Here, the operation of the time limit rules enabled the leaseholder to proceed with claims against the building’s design-and-build contractor and the landlord’s architect, by way of collateral warranties. It is noteworthy that long-anticipated legislation governing prescription came into force on 1 June 2022. Judicial guidance on the workings of this new regime is still...
In this issue: Building safety Contract law Bonds Environmental issues Construction industry news Lex Talk®Construction: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Construction trackers Building safety MHCLG updates guidance on amendments to BSA 2022 introduced by LFRA 2024 MHCLG has refreshed its guidance on the BSA 2022 amendments made by LFRA 2024. The update brings in three measures, taking effect from 31 October 2024, addressing remediation orders, remediation contribution orders, and clarification of ‘relevant steps’. See: LNB News 01/11/2024 42. NAO publishes report on MHCLG’s dangerous cladding remediation portfolio The National Audit Office ( NAO) has released a report reviewing MHCLG’s portfolio for remediating dangerous cladding. It evaluates whether remediation in England has been delivered promptly and at a reasonable cost to taxpayers. The report also considers how effectively unsafe buildings are...
FES Ltd v HFD Construction Group Ltd [2024] CSIH 37 What are the practical implications of this case? This decision affirms that, within the Scottish SBC conditions, a contractor’s right to be reimbursed for direct loss and/or expense arising from a Relevant Matter is dependent upon observance of the procedure in clause 4.21. Notify the Architect/ Contract Administrator of the Relevant Matter at the point its probable effect becomes reasonably evident. Thereafter, provide an initial evaluation of the loss and/or expense together with any further particulars required, in line with clauses 4.21.1–4.21.4. In short, compliance with clause 4.21 is a condition precedent to any entitlement. The court was in no doubt that this is the sense conveyed by the wording of clause 4.20 in the Scottish SBC terms, which sets out the contractor’s entitlement to recover loss and/or...
In this issue: Autumn Budget 2024 JCT contracts Assignment Adjudication Construction industry news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content New Q& As Construction trackers Autumn Budget 2024 Autumn Budget 2024—key Construction announcements In the Autumn Budget 2024, set out on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, outlined funding to remedy unsafe housing, investment to repair issues associated with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete ( RAAC), initiatives to rebuild Britain, support to tackle the skills gap, and advances across energy and transport infrastructure. See: LNB News 30/10/2024 63. JCT contracts JCT announces publication date for Measured Term Contract 2024 The JCT has confirmed that the 2024 iteration of its Measured Term Contract ( MTC) will be available from 13 November 2024. See: LNB News 30/10/2024 40......
Estate Management and Business Development Company Ltd v Junior Sammy Contractors Ltd ( Trinidad and Tobago) [2024] UKPC 33 What are the practical implications of this case? This decision examines when a party may invoke the defences of abatement or fraud to resist paying amounts certified as due under interim payment certificates. It also clarifies the difference between an outright assignment of all contractual rights (ie including the right to commence proceedings) and an assignment by way of charge, under which the Contractor remains able to bring proceedings to recover amounts owed. What was the background? Estate Management and Business Development Company Ltd (the Employer), a wholly owned state company incorporated in Trinidad and Tobago, entered into a contract dated 4 February 2015 with Junior Sammy Contractors Ltd (the Contractor). Under that agreement, the Contractor agreed to perform residential infrastructure works (the Works) for the Employer at the...
Essential Living ( Greenwich) Ltd v Conneely Facades Ltd [2024] EWHC 2629 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision underscores that the court will entertain natural justice attacks on adjudicators’ awards only in the starkest circumstances, and will discount trivial objections to the adjudicator’s method. Courts tend to disregard minor or immaterial criticisms of the adjudicator’s approach, looking only for substantive unfairness in most cases. In particular, the ruling indicates a court is slow to find that an adjudicator pre‑judged the dispute (and so was biased) unless they settled on a definitive view of a material point at an early juncture and deprived the parties of a fair chance to advance their arguments. The case also serves as a caution that a party can forfeit its ability to contest an adjudicator’s determination through its behaviour after the process...
In this issue: Building safety JCT contracts Adjudication Contract law Environmental issues Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Construction trackers Building safety MHCLG and BSR considering higher-risk building classification MHCLG and the BSR have confirmed that they are actively reviewing and considering the views expressed by the First- Tier Tribunal ( FTT) in the recent decision of Blomfiled v Monier Road Limited [2024] Lexis Citation 1049. The case asked the FTT to decide whether a roof garden should be treated as a storey when assessing if a building satisfied the height and storey criteria set out in the Higher- Risk Buildings ( Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023, SI 2023/275. While acknowledging that determining whether the particular building was a higher-risk building fell outside its jurisdiction, the FTT nevertheless concluded that a roof garden ought to count as a...
The roll-out of the JCT 2024 suite continues with issue of the 2024 editions of the JCT Major Project, Constructing Excellence, and Prime Cost Building contracts (together with their related guides and sub-contracts) on 16 October 2024. For insights into the revisions made to the Major Project and Prime Cost forms, see News Analyses: The JCT Major Project Construction Contract 2024—what’s changed? and The JCT Prime Cost Building Contract 2024—what’s changed? In this piece, we outline the principal updates to the Constructing Excellence Contract 2024 ( CE 2024) and the Constructing Excellence Project Team Agreement ( CE/ P 2024), measured against their 2016 counterparts and other agreements in the JCT 2024 suite. Reference versions of the CE 2024, CE/ P 2024 and the Constructing Excellence Contract Guide 2024 ( CE/ G 2024) will shortly be accessible on Lexis+®...
The rollout of the JCT 2024 suite has progressed with the issue of 2024 editions of the JCT Major Project, Constructing Excellence, and Prime Cost Building contracts (together with their related guides and sub-contracts) on 16 October 2024. For analysis of the revisions to the Major Project form, see News Analysis: The JCT Major Project Construction Contract 2024—what’s changed? In this piece, we set out the principal updates to the Prime Cost Building Contract 2024 ( PCC 2024), measured against its 2016 predecessor and other documents in the JCT 2024 suite. Reference copies of PCC 2024 and the Prime Cost Building Contract Guide 2024 ( PCC/ G 2024) will shortly be accessible on Lexis+® Construction, within our sub-topic ‘ JCT contracts 2024’ (housed under the main topic, ‘ Standard form construction contracts’), and also via Practice Note: JCT contracts...
BECK Interiors Ltd v Eros Ltd [2024] EWHC 2084 ( TCC) What are the practical implication of this case? When a party faces several simultaneous adjudications, and more are threatened, what must be shown before the court will use its discretion to restrain them by injunction? The issue is what threshold must be met, amid overlapping referrals and looming ones, to justify such intervention. Under section 108 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, any party to a construction contract may commence adjudication ‘at any time’. Conversely, section 37 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 empowers the court to grant injunctive relief where it is ‘just and convenient’. How are these competing entitlements reconciled? In Mentmore Towers Ltd v Packman Lucas Ltd, Edwards‑ Stuart J confirmed that the court does have jurisdiction to halt adjudication proceedings by...
The roll-out of the JCT 2024 suite continued with the issue of 2024 editions of the JCT Major Project, Constructing Excellence, and Prime Cost Building contracts (together with their related guides and sub-contracts) on 16 October 2024. The Major Project contract documents comprise the following: Major Project Construction Contract 2024 ( MPCC 2024) Major Project Construction Contract Guide 2024 ( MP/ G 2024) Major Project Sub- Contract 2024 ( MP/ Sub 2024) Major Project Sub- Contract Guide 2024 ( MP/ Sub/ G 2024) Reference copies of these materials will shortly be available on Lexis+® Construction, under our sub-topic ‘ JCT contracts 2024’ (within the main topic ‘ Standard form construction contracts’), and via Practice Note: JCT contracts 2024—reference copies. In this article, we outline the principal changes to the MPCC 2024 and MP/ Sub 2024 when set against their 2016...
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When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
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