Some things change, others never change. The choice of procurement route is still governed by three main factors:· Time· Cost· Quality It is hard, if not impossible to achieve the best of all these three but when choosing a procurement route consideration must be given to the list of priorities so that people's expectations are properly managed ...
The Office of Fair Trading has written to a number of undisclosed companies in the construction industry, in relation to its ongoing investigation into a suspected multi-billion pound bid rigging cartel. It is offering the "late comers" a last chance to mitigate the potential fines which might be ascending upon them in the biggest cartel investigation in UK history ...
The U.S. Department of Justice’s revised corporate charging policy, which was named after deputy attorney general Paul McNulty, was unveiled in December 2006. In the wake of its predecessor document, the 2003 Thompson Memo, we have seen a steady increase in the resolution of corporate criminal investigations without indictments or trials ...
Advocate General Sharpston has recently expressed her opinion in the Commission v Republic of Finland case that ensuring a sufficient degree of transparency for the award of sub-threshold procurements should be determined by national law, rather than Community law. If these views were to be followed by the ECJ, it would provide renewed impetus to create national rules on low value awards and represent a meaningful evolution of the ECJ's past case law ...
In our July 2006 legal update, we reported on a ground-breaking agreement (Agreement) signed by the Hong Kong and Mainland China Governments, under which they agreed to recognise and enforce judgments made in each others courts. Legislative changes are now underway in Hong Kong in order to implement the Agreement ...
When the government and a contractor negotiate a construction contract, they usually stipulate in the contract that, in case of any dispute arising from the contract, such dispute shall be submitted to the engineer or the architect for decision before such dispute is submitted for arbitration. This is what is commonly referred to as a¡§pre-arbitration¡¨ procedure ...
1 When Do We Need a Building Permit?As a rule, the construction of or any structural alterations to any building situated on theRomanian territory requires a building permit. Few are the contexts where this rule is notapplicable. These situations usually refer to the repairing and maintenance works to the existingbuildings, which do not involve changes in the initial features of the buildings ...
Pursuant to the so-called Four Years Act, owners may unilaterally increase the rent for certain apartments during the period of 2007 to 2010 for once a year up to the target value. The calculation method is set forth by law and the target value will be announced by the Ministry for Local Development in the Collection of Laws. The written announcement of the increase must be duly justified. The lessee may file an action in respect of invalidating the increase ...
During the past decade, project financing structures have been actively used in Colombia in connection with the construction and improvement of infrastructure facilities and the expansion of access to basic public services. In particular, private investment has been active in concessions, the privatization and capitalization of public entities, BOT, BOO and BOLT schemes and other financing techniques ...
On 11 July 2006, six Chinese ministries (Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Commerce, National Development and Reform Commission, The People’s Bank of China, State Administration for Industry and Commerce and State Administration of Foreign Exchange) jointly issued a circular “Opinions on Regulating the Entry into and the Administration of Foreign Investment in the Real Estate Market” Jianzhufang [2006] Circular No ...
The removal of the Crown’s immunity from English planning law will make buying and developing such land much easier, says Shoosmiths’ planning law team. Crown Immunity dated back to the 1960s and included government departments such as the MOD, Her Majesty’s private estates, the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall and the Crown Estate Commissioners. In the past the Crown had only to consult with local planning authorities before carrying out development ...
A spectacular smash-up always draws a crowd. In the outsourcing world, where the wreckage is nearly always kept under wraps, that’s even more true. When a problem deal does break into view, it’s always worth watching for lessons in how to manage – or how not to manage – these complex transactions ...
The cause of an action in defamation exists to provide some recourse and remedy to victims of falsehoods which can and do cause injury to reputation. In a classic formulation, recently adopted and approved by Geopel J ...
For many years, parties have created various legal tools to grant others the right to use a portion of their lands. Prior to the imposition of statutory controls on the subdivision and leasing of land, this could simply be accomplished by the property owner granting exclusive possession over a portion of their land to a tenant by way of a lease and everyone was happy. Everyone that is but the local and provincial governments ...
Disputes are the bane of all construction professionals lives, but unfortunately no matter how hard one tries to avoid them (partnering, mediation and the like) there are always some matters which require formal dispute resolution to resolve them. PFI is one area where efforts have been made in the last few years to streamline disputes and where appropriate to consolidate disputes. While such aims are to be applauded they can in themselves lead to difficulties ...
On 14 July 2006, the Hong Kong and Mainland China Governments signed a ground-breaking agreement, rather lengthily entitled "An Arrangement on Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region pursuant to Choice of Court Agreements between Parties Concerned" (Arrangement), under which they agreed to recognise and enforce judgments made in each others courts ...
There are a number of legal mechanisms that can improve the economics and liability of industrial and commercial development projects for developers willing to take advantage of them. This article will explore some of the incentives available to developers that will assist in maximizing profits and freeing-up capital that would otherwise be devoted to conventional construction or permanent loan financing. 1. Tax Incremental Financing Districts (“TIF’s”) ...
Although the United Kingdom comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, this guide relates only to the current position in England and Wales because Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own individual legal systems. The rules and procedure of the Civil Courts in England and Wales are contained in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) which were introduced in 1999 and which lay down the framework within which all civil litigation must be conducted ...
The Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Bill 2006 was published on 16 February 2006 (a pdf version of this Bill is available at the end of this article). The idea of creating a “fast track” planning procedure for major infrastructural projects had been mooted for over three years ...
In a long-awaited judgment, the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (“CFI”) partially upheld on December 14, 2005, the European Commission’s decision of July 3, 2001 to block the proposed acquisition of Honeywell International Inc. (“Honeywell”) by General Electric Company (“GE”). In its decision, the Commission had considered that the merger should be blocked for three sets of reasons ...
Since its creation by Decree-Law No. 10/2003 of January 18, the new Portuguese Competition Authority (“PCA”) has analysed more than 150 concentrations. It is said to analyse around 5 concentrations a month. In 2004 and 2005, the PCA reported 130 notified concentrations, 125 of which had issued decisions and 11 cases in which said decisions were reached following second phase proceedings ...
In June 2004 legislation came into force giving Scottish communities a right to purchase land for sustainable development. The legislation is complicated. Even the Scottish Executive's guidance for community bodies states such a purchase is no easy option and requires commitment and patience. It suggests community bodies may wish to consider buying the land by agreement without the use of the legislation ...
In June 2004 legislation came into force giving Scottish communities a right to purchase land for sustainable development. The legislation is complicated. Even the Scottish Executive's guidance for community bodies states such a purchase is no easy option and requires commitment and patience. It suggests community bodies may wish to consider buying the land by agreement without the use of the legislation ...
The Federal Electricity Commission (the “Commission”) has put out for public bidding the construction and the operation of a Liquid Natural Gas Degasification Terminal (the “Terminal”). The winning tender will construct, operate, and supply gas from the Terminal which will ensure a supply of natural gas to the Commission’s electricity generating plants Manzanillo I and II, Bajio, El Sauz, Salamanca, and Guadalajara I and II ...
In the 1930s Duke Ellington wrote what was to become a jazz standard. The song was called "It don't mean a thing (if it ain't got that swing)". What is the connection with gas supply you may well ask? To explain, contracts to supply gas contain ‘swing’ - the term for the supply margin given to a buyer over their peak demand ...
