Although civil engineering forms of contract used in Singapore have evolved over the last 40 years, the majority of major civil engineering contracts still include the provision which was adopted originally from Clause 12 of the ICE Conditions that the employer accepts the risk of adverse physical conditions which could not have been reasonably foreseen by an experienced contractor. Disagreement inevitably arises because the terminology is necessarily vague and the circumstances of the ‘adversity’ are judged after the event, when there is a natural tendency to be influenced by hindsight. 

Join us at this event where the panellists will discuss the following: 

• The relevant provisions in the various international standard forms of contracts as well as the Singapore standard forms dealing with adverse physical conditions.
• Recent case law dealing with claims for adverse physical conditions.
• Actual circumstances of adverse conditions being encountered in Singapore to illustrate the challenges faced by the Engineer or Project Manager in assessing what should have been foreseen.

Webinar participants will be able to watch and listen to (via computer audio, recommended for security reasons, or telephone line) the video presentation and Q&A discussion on their screens, as well as participate in the Q&A discussion by sending in their questions to the moderator via text using the built-in Q&A function.

Christopher is a respected construction expert with 40 years’ experience in the construction industry. He is a Fellow of the Asia Pacific Institute of Experts. For 35 years he has been based in Singapore and has given expert evidence in arbitration and court proceedings on numerous occasions. He is a regular speaker at seminars and conferences. He is a Past Chairman of the Society of Construction Law in Singapore, was a member of the ICE Editorial Advisory Panel and was also accredited as an adjudicator. Christopher holds a Masters degree in geology from Oxford University and spent the early part of his career planning and executing site investigation works for major civil engineering schemes. Since then, he has always maintained a particular interest in disputes involving “adverse physical conditions”.

Paul Sandosham is the Managing Partner of Cavenagh Law LLP and concurrently a partner in Clifford Chance LLP. He practises in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution department and heads Clifford Chance Asia's Energy, Infrastructure and Resources (Disputes) practice for South East Asia. He often acts as counsel in court, adjudication proceedings and international arbitration proceedings under various arbitration rules for various parties in disputes arising out of complex cross-border construction and infrastructure disputes. Paul is on the panel of arbitrators of various arbitral institutions and is often appointed as sole or presiding arbitrator. Paul was one of the inaugural batch of thirteen practitioners appointed as a Senior Accredited Specialists for Building & Construction by the Singapore Academy of Law. He is recognised as a leading dispute resolution and construction lawyer in numerous independent legal publications. He is the current Chairman of the Board of Directors of CIArb (Singapore).

Trevor has over 20 years of experience across the globe and currently leads TBH’s Singapore office and is the Honorary Treasurer of the Society of Construction Law (Singapore). His experience has been built on a variety of projects including airports, roads, rail, mixed-use developments, hospitals, shopping centres, oil & gas, power and sporting facilities. Over his career, he has been engaged in the provision of independent expert analyses on extensions of time, disruption and acceleration. This has included the preparation of analyses, reports and acting as the Expert for litigation, arbitration, adjudication and mediation proceedings. To stay current, Trevor continues to maintain a strong involvement in the delivery of live projects; planning works from conception to completion across a diversified client base including owners, contractors and sub-contractors. As a result, it has helped in developing a wide-ranging perspective on construction issues that commonly arise.