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David Christie, Dr Severine Saintier and Dr Jessica Viven-Wilksch 


Don't get stuck on stupid: Good faith in the performance of (construction) contractsJoin Dr Severine Saintier, of the University of Exeter, Dr Jessica Viven -Wilksch, of the University of Adelaide, and David Christie, of Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, as they discuss the performance of construction contracts.They will suggest that the project-focused (rather than party-centric) approach suggested in Amey v Birmingham City Council avoids getting "stuck on stupid", since it recognises the parties’ common interest in seeing the contract performed. They test the proposition by reference to recent case law in both the UK and Australia. This is with a view to securing the foundations of good faith and working towards improved working practices in the construction industry. The British Institute of International and Comparative Law concept note on Covid-19 and commercial contracts endorsed that good faith obligations are important in allowing the commercial flexibility required in modern contracts. That's easier said than done. There remains the problem of how to then integrate that concept into contractual practice in construction contracts in both Australia and the UK. There is a consensus in both jurisdictions that this aids collaborative working but questions remain about precisely how they operate. Such difficulties have undoubtedly fed the scepticism about the application of ‘good faith obligations’ among some. One solution is to provide some form of enumeration of those rights either within a form of contract or as some extra-contractual arrangement, but that seems to miss something. Rather the spirit seems to be as expressed by former US Army General Russel Honoré: “Don’t get stuck on stupid”. Could this be captured in law and if so, how? The link for this session will be sent to your email by 9am on 19 November, please check your spam inbox if you do not see it.

Speakers:

Dr Severine Saintier: Dr Saintier is Associate Professor in Commercial Law (Education and Research). She joined Exeter Law School (in January 2014) from Sheffield University. She previously held positions in Liverpool, Staffordshire and Keele Universities. Dr Saintier's primary research interest is in the field of contract law (loosely defined). Her research is comparative in nature and was cited by Lord Hoffmann in the (then) House of Lords in Lonsdale v Howard Hallam [2007] UKHL, [2008] 1 WLR 2055 and more recently in the Court of Appeal in Computer Associates UK Ltd v The Software Incubator [2018] EWCA Civ 518.

Dr Jessica Viven-Wilsch: Dr Viven-Wilksch has been lecturing at Adelaide Law School, University of Adelaide since 2015. Prior to joining the Adelaide Law School she lectured at Flinders Law School and taught as a tutor at the Law School of the University of South Australia. Dr Viven-Wilksch studied at Univeristy Toulouse, UCD Dublin, Mannheim Universitat and the University of Adelaide on her way to a Masters degrees in Comparative and International Law. Her thesis examined the doctrine of good faith in European and Australian contract law and her research is focusing on comparing doctrines in commercial law.

David Christie is an academic lawyer, with a focus on construction law and dispute resolution as well as being an Academic Strategic Lead for Academic Programmes within the Law School at Robert Gordon University. Before entering academia, David was a construction and engineering disputes lawyer in Glasgow and Edinburgh, with international experience. David has a masters by research from the University of Manchester and his research focusses on the academic doctrines which underpin construction law, and -in particular - how these might help develop greater collaboration.

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