Construction Law

Author: John Uff QC

Price: £29.95

Edition: 10th Edition (June 2009)

ISBN: 978-1-84703-767-1

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For practitioners specialising in construction law, they will understand that it has many unique principles which are often misunderstood by more general practitioners.  It is therefore pleasing to see that some undergraduate law schools are running construction law courses to cater for this specialist skill set.  John Uff QC's tenth edition of Construction Law aims to provide those students, along with practitioners and construction professionals, with an accessible introduction to this area of law.  It largely achieves this aim.

John Uff QC is both an experienced barrister, practising from the renowned Keating Chambers, and a highly regarded academic.  His thorough understanding of the law is underpinned by his training as a civil engineer.  This translates into Uff's written style; it is both accessible and practical.  The text remains split into sixteen chapters and one appendix.  The chapters are well-organised and include: dispute resolution - litigation, adjudication and ADR; the law of obligations; special contracts; construction contracts; standard forms of contracts; the standard building contract; the ICE conditions of contract; and the law of tort.  The appendix is also very useful as it a glossary of legal terms: invaluable to non-legal readers.

It is perhaps important to remember that construction law is, for the main part, a mix of established legal principles mainly from contract and tort.  These principles are, however, supplemented by the bespoke standard form contracts produced by the Joint Contracts Tribunal ('JCT') and there are certain procedures, most obviously adjudication, which are used in this branch of law more so than others.  Fortunately, John Uff QC has these nuances firmly in mind and ensures they are tackled in a sensible way.  For example, the chapter dealing with the JCT contract adopts (unusually for a student text) an approach of analysing the standard provisions and explaining how they work: this is very useful.

For undergraduates looking for a valuable flashlight to construction law, or practitioners (including non-lawyers) wanting a clear overview, John Uff QC's Construction Law will remain a favourite.  Its concise written style means even the most complex principles are set out in a relatively straight-forward way.  Where appropriate, Uff's points are supported by case-law or extracts from judgments: this saves valuable research time.  Its price, at less than £30, also makes it an indispensible purchase for practitioners and construction professionals and valuable one for students tackling this area of law.

Reviewed on 6 February 2011

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