October 2020 • Issue No. 48

Upcoming Events

Date	Title




8 Oct 2020	WEBINAR: Making or Breaking Your Case - What Makes an Effective Expert Witness (8 Oct 2020)

View details of
SCL(S) Council 2020-2022

Click here

Welcome to new SCL(S) Members

August 2020 to October 2020
1.	Chong Chi Chuin Christopher
2.	Charles Lim
3.	Cheryl Lim
4.	Christopher Nunns
5.	Mohamad Juraimi Bin Sik Ejin

Post Event Updates

WEBINAR: The Impact of Law on the Architect in Practice

(22 July 2020)

WEBINAR: An Exchange with Infrastructure Asia: Accelerating Regional Infrastructure Development

(14 May 2020)

WEBINAR: Construction in Singapore Beyond COVID-19: A View from SCL(S) Council Members

(6 May 2020)

Annual Construction Law Update 2020

(22 January 2020)

Practical Applications and Legal Implications of Drone Technology in Construction Projects

(20 November 2019)

The SIDP – Customising the Mode of Dispute Resolution for Each Dispute

(30 October 2019)

Council Member's Message - October 2020

Dear Fellow SCL(S) members,

Instead of citing 2020 as a challenging year, I would say it has been exciting and game-changing for the way we live our life, do our work, keep ourselves updated and stay connected (virtually).

As part of the newly formed Council, I am more than happy to update fellow SCL(S) members on what has been going on.

Covid-19 remains a hot topic as the construction sector is still gearing itself towards recovering, with the Singapore Government’s support in policies and funding and organizations like SCL(S) sharing and explaining the new legislation and schemes through our newsletters and webinars.

Alexis Chan
Council Member, SCL (Singapore)

Announcement(s)

Valuable Resources Available in the Members’ Area

Members are reminded that all presentation materials from our webinars as well as past seminars and conferences (for which copyright consent has been obtained) can be found on our website and are freely available to members upon login to the Members’ Area.

Just follow these 3 simple steps:

Office Bearers and Council Members for 2020 - 2022

We are pleased to announce that our Office Bearers and Council Members for 2020 - 2022:

Chairman	Lee Chau Ee
Vice Chairman	Kua Moon Yin
Honorary Secretary	Kelvin Teo
Honorary Treasurer	Trevor Lam
Assistant Honorary Treasurer	Ashok Kumar Rai
Immediate Past Chairman	Toh Chen Han
Council Members
Darren Benger
Anil Changaroth
Adrian Wong
Wong Li Kok Alex
Alexis Chan
Sezgin Ozbilgin (Co-opted onto Council wef 16 Sep 2020)
Samuel Widdowson (Co-opted onto Council wef 16 Sep 2020)

View the Detailed Council Chart HERE.

Article(s)

Are payment claims served after the construction contract is terminated pre-cluded from adjudication under the SOPA?

A review of Shimizu Corporation v Stargood Construction Pte Ltd

Prior to Shimizu’s case, practitioners in the building and construction industry had assumed that payment claims may be submitted for adjudication under the SOPA after the contract is terminated. This approach facilitates the ‘roughshod’ justice intended by the SOPA to enable downstream contractors to obtain payment for work done or materials supplied under the contract. In other words, ‘pay now, argue later’! In 2020, Shimizu and Far East’s case (2019) drastically overturned the prior state of the law that had allowed such claims. This article seeks to evaluate the two cases and suggests a practical way forward until the Court of Appeal has the opportunity to review the position.

Contributed by: Eric Ng Yuen and Tan Lay Hong

Latest Post Event Updates

Webinar: The Circuit Break - Picking up the Pieces

(24 September 2020)

The webinar was well attended, with about 50 participants. This was a timely talk on a topical subject that was close to all our hearts, given the challenging times faced by the industry these past months.

Paul was his usual showman self, delivering on-point and concisely his well-considered views not just on how the COTMA works and the impending amendments to COTMA, but also a portent of what the long term implications of COTMA are...

Contributed by: Kelvin Teo - Drew & Napier LLC

WEBINAR: Bond Calls and Interim Relief

(03 September 2020)

On 3 September 2020, Lynne McCafferty QC and Sanjay Patel of 4 Pump Court, spoke to the Society on one of the most difficult, yet interesting and relevant subjects in the field of construction law, Performance Bonds. The talk was presented virtually via Zoom, and drew an audience of over 60, and engaged with them on some challenging Q & A at the end. Topics covered included: The purpose and structure of performance bonds; the various forms they take; distinguishing between a “demand guarantee” or a “true guarantee” and the significance of the distinction; demand requirements; and a multi-jurisdictional survey of the grounds for challenging or restraining demands on demand guarantees.

Contributed by: Toh Chen Han - Pinsent Masons MPillay

WEBINAR: Picking Fruit from Scorched Earth – Practical Tips for Managing Construction Arbitrations Efficiently

(23 June 2020)

On 23 June this year, my colleague Kelvin Teo from Drew and Napier LLC and Hazel Tang from the ICC, spoke to some 60+ participants from the construction/legal fraternity in “Picking Fruit from Scorched Earth – Practical Tips for Managing Construction Arbitrations Efficiently”, a webinar jointly supported by the ICC and the SCL(S). The aptly-named title invoked images of the scorched earth tactics used by some, as well as of the ultimate goal of obtaining the fruits of the arbitration. Hazel gave the audience the perspective from the institution that administers arbitration, and talked us through the key aspects of an ICC Commission Report on tools and techniques for managing construction industry arbitrations.

Contributed by: Tan Lee Jane - Drew & Napier LLC

Newsletter Editors: Ashok Rai & Toh Chen Han

Society of Construction Law (Singapore)
12 Eu Tong Sen Street, #08-169, SOHO 2, Clarke Quay Central, Singapore 059819 • Tel: +65-65512783 & Fax: +65-6225 9426
www.scl.org.sg

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