ESCL Annual Conference & Workshop

HKA is delighted to be taking part in this year’s ESCL Conference “Construction Projects and the cultural context”.

Dr. Franco Mastrandrea, Partner, will be speaking about “Delay as the basis for construction disputes”

26 September @ 16.30 – 18.00
Delay as the basis for construction disputes
Why do some cultures so obsess over delay?

Franco will explore Delay as the Basis of Construction Disputes considering the increasingly prevalent use of time-limited notice provisions in international construction contracts questioning whether they truly deliver on their promise of clarity and fairness. He’ll challenge: whether these provisions reflect a balanced allocation of risk; how well they align with local legal cultures; and if they genuinely serve the interests of both parties in complex, high-stakes projects.

Franco posits the following hypothetical:

The FIDIC 2017 Red Book Conditions apply
The Employer, under obligation to hand over the Site to the Contractor on 3 March 2025, failed to do so, and instead did so on 1 September 2025.
Neither Party furnished an advance warning.
The Contractor first issued a Sub-Clause 20.2.1 notice on 2 April 2025, and on every monthly anniversary thereafter, until 3 September 2025.
The Contractor’s prolongation Cost ran at an average of USD 0.5million/week over the period.
The Employer’s Delay Damages were pre-determined and specified at USD 1million/week.

• What is the appropriate financial outcome?
• Can/should Sub-Clause 20.2.5 aid the hapless Contractor?
• Can Article 7.1.2 of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (2016) do so?
• Does/should the governing law of the contract make any difference?  

This promises to be a thought-provoking session at the intersection of law, culture, and commercial reality.

View the full programme here