Protocol aims to steer construction cases away from court

A new pre-action protocol covering construction and engineering disputes should mean fewer cases reaching court and promises to defuse litigants' 'passion and anger', according to leading practitioners.

The protocol comes into force on 2 October.

It follows the model of the existing personal injury protocol, requiring claimants to issue a detailed letter of claim, to which the defendant must respond within 28 days.

Parties are then required to meet, exploring all means of dispute resolution before resorting to litigation.

Nick Young, head of the construction and engineering group at Davies Arnold Cooper, said: 'Anything encouraging early resolution of disputes in a sensible and pragmatic way has to be in clients' interests.' The enforceable requirement for parties to meet before going to court could prove a 'suitable weapon against an intransigent opponent', he added.

Philip Jolly of Bristol firm TLT said the protocol 'puts solicitors into a stronger position when they advise confrontational clients to proceed with caution'.

Mr Jolly, a dual qualified solicitor and surveyor, described it as a mechanism to 'filter out insincerity in a dispute'.

Rowland Byass