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Global Perspectives on Construction Law (LAWS70450)
Graduate coursework level 7Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
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About this subject
Contact information
April
Lecturer
Paul Tracey, Coordinator
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | April |
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Fees | Look up fees |
A distinguishing characteristic of international construction projects is the challenge that collaborating with stakeholders from different national cultures and legal jurisdictions can present. A number of troublesome issues repeatedly manifest themselves on international construction projects and often the intangible nature of the influence of national culture in construction law is only considered at a superficial level. In seeking to address these troublesome issues the suitability of the existing procurement, commercial management and dispute resolution models are being questioned more and more. At the same time a digital transformation in the international construction industry is gathering pace with the wider adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the hope that BIM can facilitate a collaborative culture in the industry.
Using award winning innovative teaching and learning interventions (including Rich Pictures in Construction Law), this subject explores the troublesome issues that manifest themselves on international construction projects from an industry-focused global perspective.
The subject will provide an in-depth understanding of the influence of national culture in the context of these troublesome issues and consider the necessity for national culture to be considered in the adoption of potential solutions to them.
Paul Tracey is a dual-qualified chartered quantity surveyor with a degree in law. He has over 30 years of international experience acting as a commercial manager and expert witness and is the Programme Leader of the LLM / MSc in Construction Law and Practice Masters at the University of Salford.
The subject will draw extensively upon authentic industry experience and seek to capture global perspectives on the subject matter using case studies from projects in Asia, Europe and South America.
Principal topics include:
- The critical analysis of different procurement strategies and contractual arrangements on international construction projects and the potential for a more collaborative approach
- Commercial risk management on international construction projects, including: choice of law, unforeseen or latent conditions, liquidated damages, caps on liability, consequential loss, and dispute resolution mechanisms
- Managing time, cost and performance risk on international construction projects using contractual mechanisms, including the challenges of managing change on international construction projects
- Preparing prolongation and disruption claims on international construction projects
- The potential of 5D BIM in the international construction industry in a construction law and practice context and how BIM can be utilised to avoid and resolve disputes
- The influence of national culture on the preparation, evaluation and negotiation of time and money claims on international construction projects
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have an advanced understanding in a comparative context of the aims and methods of the law as it particularly applies to the delivery of international construction projects
- Have a detailed understanding of the cultural, economic, legal, physical, political and technical issues that commonly affect international construction projects
- Be able to deal at an advanced level with some of the major points of distinction in construction law and practice in different jurisdictions
- Have a subtle appreciation of comparative legal and non-legal approaches to time and money claims on international construction projects
- Have the technical skills to independently examine, research and analyse comparative approaches to construction law and practice
- Be able to contribute meaningfully to ongoing debates about optimal ways of dealing with all of these matters at a policy level
Last updated: 3 November 2022