Monthly Archives: September 2016

Escrow Agreements The word “Escrow” as a noun means “a bond, deed or other document kept in the custody of a third party and taking effect only when a specified condition has been fulfilled.” “Escrow is not an acronym. It is derived from the Middle English word “escrow”, which means “scroll” or parchment. We are […]

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) published, in September 2016, a report related to offshore processing centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. It is very timely and informative for the UK Government, given the Brexit outcome. The Australian Government was anxious to avoid asylum seekers risking their lives on boat journeys to Australia, hence […]

PROJECT DISPUTE – PERFORMANCE AND PERFORMANCE GUARANTEE We are always seeking to inform our readers of contractual ‘incidents’ from which there is extensive learning opportunities. There has been a long running saga between Todaysure Matthews Ltd & Anor v Marketing Ways Services Ltd. The latest reference is [2016] EWHC 147 in the Commercial Court. The […]

PROCUREMENT FRAUD £127 BILLION “By far the biggest source of fraud for these businesses relates to procurement – an enormous £127 billion. Procurement fraud included crimes such as the submission of false invoices or the awarding of contracts in exchange for bribes….” The source of this statement is the 2016 report overseen by the UK […]

BREXIT – PROCUREMENT – WHAT NEXT? The Nation has spoken! In our article dated 20/06/2016 we pointed out that there were implications for procurement. Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty now applies. At paragraph 1 it states that ‘Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.’ […]

Incoterms® EXW (Ex Works) Expert knowledge is required by those using any of the Incoterms®. We highlight the pitfall(s) for those nominating EXW as the basis for the deal. What does it mean? At first sight it seems simple. All Incoterms® define the responsibilities of buyer and seller. A common misunderstanding is that with EXW […]

Procurement Fraud! Will it Ever Stop? The perpetrators of procurement fraud have almost endless opportunities to commit fraud. We have another example for you. It concerns construction procurement, so there is no surprise there. The case investigated included bids for projects, some of which was either (1) fraudulent or (2) from a company owned by […]