ARBITRATION EDUCATION STATION – APRIL 2021

SPECIALISATION IN CONSTRUCTION LAW

INTRODUCTION

1. The Specialisation in Construction Law Course is a one-year distance learning course. It is intended for persons interested in gaining a better understanding of construction law in South Africa.  Construction law is part of the law of contract.  As such, the principles of the law of contract apply to even the most complex of construction contracts.
2. The tutors for the course are Nick Maritz, Pierre Rossouw SC and Tjaart van der Walt SC, under the leadership of Kevin Trisk SC.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR ENROLMENT

3. Candidates must be members of the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa), and must be either Fellows, lawyers or persons who have successfully completed Modules 1, 2 and 3 of the Association’s correspondence courses.

COURSE STRUCTURE

4. After enrolment, students will be furnished with course notes. They will be required to complete three written assignments during the year.  The assignments must be written in narrative style.  The assignments must demonstrate a proper understanding of construction law.  A one-day workshop will take place towards the middle of the year.  Examinations will be written in late November or early December.
5. Because it is a distance learning course, contact with tutors will be mainly through correspondence. Students may submit questions, queries or comments through the Course and Membership Manager, Miss Mandisa Mthembu.

COURSE SYLLABUS

6. The course is specifically directed at the interests of practitioners in the construction industry. It deals with legal principles related to the various elements which comprise construction contracts.
7. Save for Christie’s Law of Contract in South Africa, 7^th Edition, by GB Bradfield, no other book has been prescribed for the course because there is simply no elementary textbook available which covers construction law in South Africa satisfactorily. Certain other textbooks are recommended.  Students will be furnished with a list of prescribed cases.  The judgments listed should be studied in detail as they provide authority for the fundamental principles applicable in construction law.
8. In addition to the general principles, various topics which are important in the construction industry will be addressed in the course. They include, amongst other things, delay and disruption, extension of time, compensation for delay and/or disruption, liability for defects and remedies for breach.

Adv Pierre Rossouw SC
Chairperson
11 March 2021