The 3rd Annual Construction Law Conference, presented jointly by the Law Society of Singapore and the Society of Construction Law Singapore (“SCL”) in July 2007 was a full-day event to summarize and discuss some recent developments in construction and current issues affecting the construction industry.

In his welcome address, Philip Jeyaratnam SC, President of the Law Society of Singapore, envisioned that multi-disciplianry practices will play an increasing role in dispute resolution in the construction industry. This was concurred by Naresh Mahtani, Chairman of the SCL, who in his presentation encouraged a more effective use of specialist technical experts to keep in control the costs of resolving disputes.

The conference proceedings were divided into four key areas. The first session by Naresh Mahtani, Christopher Nunns and Mohan Pillay dealt with three current construction issues, namely, a review of standard form contracts with a view to the minimization of disputes, measures to reduce the cost of dispute resolution and the possibility of a code of conduct for consultants advising on contentious matters. These were all aspects highlighted by the Attorney General in his key-note address at the International Conference in 2006, and which the SCL has taken on board with the formation of three current working committees on these issues.

In the second session, led by David Haslam, there were presentations, made by Stephen Rae, Paul Wong and Michael Hwang SC, on the question of the handling of technical evidence seen from the perspectives, respectively, of the expert witness, the legal practitioner and the tribunal.

After a delectable buffet lunch, the afternoon session chaired by Ho Chien Mien, with presentations by Choy Chee Yean and Chow Kok Fong, , reviewed some the recent cases affecting the construction industry, on topics such as expert determination and the experience with adjudications in Singapore.