Manufacturing consent The new Arbitration Bill may leave the smaller contractor liable for costs exceeding any claim, making it unable to participate, writes David Nevin On 19 June 2008, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform published the Arbitration Bill 2008. One of the principle purposes of this legislation is to give the force of law to the UNCITRAL Model Law in respect of both domestic and international arbitration.

Tender Process: Ask and you will receive Bidders must not shy away from asking questions when they are unclear on tender or prequalification requirements, writes Kevin Kelly Public tender competitions have become more complex and time-consuming for tenderers in recent years and with greater numbers of firms competing for scarcer contracts now, it is more difficult to win work.

In her series of articles, Ailbhe O’Neill looks at a variety of legal issues which could affect your organisation: > Eye for an Eye explains that Irish courts generally take an approach to reckless trading which attempts to balance the director’s wrongdoing with the liability > Secrets and Lies continues the focus on the position of the company director and looks at the issue of fraudulent trading under the Companies Acts > Waging War outlines how creditors may have more claim to the salaries paid out to directors as a company becomes insolvent > A Pain in the Asset explains why company directors must be very careful not to make a wrong move when taking defensive action to protect their assets

DISPUTE RESOLUTION: Fighting talk With a contractor’s fate increasingly hanging on its last job, we are entering a new era of confrontation. Take note of the new Arbitration Bill this summer, writes Ciaran Fahy  The chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Mr Fahy was speaking at the Construction Law Conference 2008 sponsored by Arthur Cox, BCM Hanby Wallace, Philip Lee Solicitors, Quigg Golden and Ordnance Survey Ireland.

In the line of fire If a contractor’s no longer around to settle a claim, two UK court cases suggest an employer may be able to turn its attention to its design consultants instead, writes Tom O’Brien In these challenging times, many contractors and design consultants are fighting hard to stay in business.

Cards on the table New rules for challenging the awarding of public sector contracts are increasing the disclosure obligation on contracting authorities, writes David Gunn The new Remedies Directive gives more scope to unsuccessful bidders for public sector contracts to challenge the award of those contracts.

Termination Clauses: Running for cover A client can suspend a project in the hope of getting a better price, as long as the provision for price adjustment is wide enough, writes Finola McCarthy In changing market conditions, some developers are looking at postponing completion of projects or scaling down the extent of the works.

In his series of articles, Barrett Chapman looks at the issues surrounding Architect’s Certificates. > Reality Cheque: If an architect’s interim certificate is to be regarded in the same way as a cheque, to what extent can an employer exercise his right of set-off against the certified amount? > Part II: Reality bites: Another perspective on how a contractor can go about enforcing a judgment on payment pursuant to an interim certificate