This week's edition of Construction weekly highlights includes a case in which the Court of Session found that the giving of notice was a condition precedent to the contractor’s right to payment of loss and expense (FES v HFD Construction), analysis of the impact of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) on construction industry stakeholders and the response from the professional indemnity (PI) insurance market, and reactions from built environment bodies to the Spring Budget 2024.

This Practice Note considers the practical challenges of global supply chains and the commercial lawyer’s role in securing a resilient supply chain for a business. It considers supply chain risk and the tools which lawyers have at their disposal to manage those risks (including assessing and managing supply chain partner risk, controlling risk through supply chain contracts and additional methods for managing supply chain risk). Managing risk in supply chains requires an understanding of both the operational realities and legal obligations that apply wherever a company’s direct and indirect suppliers operate. The increasingly global nature of manufacturing supply chains makes managing risk more difficult and the consequences of supply chain failures more significant. This is further aggravated by uncertain geopolitical and financial landscapes across various jurisdictions which disrupt harmonious conditions between markets, as evidenced in 2025 with the introduction of tariffs on certain global markets by the US. Thus, supply chain

Definitions 1 Active Sales means actively approaching individual customers or marketing/advertising directly to specific customer groups, or customers in a particular territory in order to make sales; Contract Products means goods and/or services produced with the Licensed Technology; Exclusive Customer Groups is defined in Schedule [insert], with the relevant exclusive customers identified therein; Exclusive Term is defined in Schedule [insert]; Exclusive Territory is defined in Schedule [insert], with the relevant territories identified therein; Fees means all fees payable under this Agreement, as set out in Schedule [insert], including without limitation the [Implementation Fee], [the Licence Fee], [the Patent Fee] [and the Royalties]; Improvements means any improvements on, modifications of or enhancements to the Licensed Technology created or developed after [insert applicable date]; Intellectual Property Rights means any patents, trade marks, domain names, service marks, registered designs, right in confidential information, know-how, copyrights, database rights, design rights, trade and business names and registrations and/or applications for any of the foregoing and any other similar protected rights in any country; Know-how means all know-how, data and other information developed by the Licensor prior to [insert

We are not aware of any cases decided by the English courts which have considered the enforceability of foreign law inheritance contracts in the UK. However, it is likely that certain principles of private international law will be relevant in determining whether the English court has jurisdiction to deal with the matter, including the domicile and capacity of the parties to the contract, and the location of the property which is the subject of the contract. See Practice Note: Private client and private international law—summary of main principles. Will

This Precedent contains introductory text for an online or hard copy employee handbook that can be adapted to suit the particular organisation. Note that it provides that the contents of the handbook are intended as a statement of the Company's policies and procedures and, except where specifically indicated, will not form part of the employee's contract of employment. Any dispute between the employee and the Company will be determined on the basis and content of the contract of employment. The handbook itself can then

As a matter of construction, there is no particular legal difficulty in making reference in a lease (which amounts to a contract) to terms in an earlier lease, as incorporating those terms by reference is likely to be sufficient to bring them within the contract between the landlord and the new tenant. This will, however, very much depend upon the manner in which the original lease is drafted and the way in which the incorporation by reference of its terms is intended to be carried out. Working on the assumption that the original lease contains clauses requiring

The limitation period for recovery of solicitors’ fees is governed by the Limitation Act 1980 (LA 1980). In particular, LA 1980, s 5 applies when no other specific provision (under the LA 1980 or otherwise) applies to a contract, and specifies that there is a general limitation period of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued. In the case of such claims founded on contract, time for limitation purposes runs from the date of breach (Gould v Johnson). For further

The Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) has launched a consultation on its new and updated pricing guidance on non-competitive defence contracts. The consultation is aimed at obtaining feedback on the guidance which introduces alternative pricing methods for contracts, more flexibility and transparency through broadening the ability for a contract to be split into different components or parts and the rationalisation of how the contract profit rate is to be calculated. The guidance is due to come into force on 1 April 2024. The consultation closes on 17 April 2024.

Term and termination This Practice Note provides an overview of the different methods for drafting term and termination clauses in commercial contracts for business-to-business (B2B) transactions. It considers the relationship between contractual clauses and common law rights relating to duration and termination of contracts, provides practical guidance on drafting term and termination clauses and the key considerations when negotiating such terms. Where an agreement is silent as to contract duration or termination, in the event of a dispute, the courts will apply common law principles to determine what the parties intended. To avoid uncertainty, it is common to include express contractual clauses which provide for the duration and termination of a contract. In general, contractual rights to terminate are in addition to, and not in substitution for, common law rights. This Practice Note focuses on contractual provisions regarding term and termination in a general commercial context, why they should be carefully considered and how they may interact with common law principles. Practitioners

Case study: A lease was completed several years ago, but the lease bears only one signature on behalf of the original tenant (in breach of the execution clause which requires signature by two directors, or one director and the company secretary). The Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) (as amended) requires different formalities to be observed depending on whether the contract is made by a company, or on behalf of a company. If the contract is made on behalf of the company then a person who is

Relief from stamp duty land tax (SDLT) is available where a person who has contracted to buy an interest in land contracts to sell or assign the rights under the contract before the contract is completed. The original rules (which were in section 45 of the Finance Act 2003 (FA 2003)) were rewritten and replaced with Schedule 2A to FA 2003 which introduced the concept of 'pre-completion transactions' (PCTs). This regime applies to PCTs entered into on or after 17 July 2013. A transaction is a PCT if: • as a result of the transaction, a person other than

We have been unable to find any judgments dealing specifically with the interpretation of the phrase ‘dated on and around’. The terms of a contract, including any reference to a commencement date or effective date will be interpreted in accordance with the usual rules of contract interpretation. The following five principles set out by Lord Hoffman in Investors Compensation Scheme v West Bromwich Building Society have become the leading statements on the interpretation of contracts: • it is an objective test as to what a reasonable person, having all the background