ADJUDICATION
Court dismisses Application to Enforce a Decision
In Tenderbids Ltd t/a Bastion v Electrical Waste Management Ltd [2025] IEHC 139, the High Court dismissed an application to enforce an adjudicator's decision based on a finding that the payment dispute was not validly referred for adjudication. We look at this adjudication decision in our briefing: Construction Law Update: Court declines to enforce Adjudicator's Decision.
STANDARD FORM CONTRACTS
NEC
A new conflict avoidance practice note is available from NEC on conflict avoidance clauses and the conflict avoidance process.
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
Roads Guidance on Grid Development
The Department of Transport published:
- Electricity Transmission Infrastructure Development - Roads Sector Engagement Framework intended to establish protocols between EirGrid, ESBN, and Road Authorities for projects that have the potential to impact public roads, and
- Interim Guidance to Road Authorities (placement of Medium or High Voltage electricity assets) intended to assist Road (Local) Authorities in their role relating to proposed placement of assets, including ducts, cables and associated infrastructure.
SUPPLY CHAINS
Tariffs
Construction contracts contain several mechanisms intended to manage the risk of events outside the parties' control which may occur during the course of a construction project, with the aim of ensuring successful project delivery. Parties to construction contracts may currently wish to review many of the mechanisms that were consulted when recent events – Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the invasion of Ukraine – impacted supply chains. We will publish a more detailed consideration of these clauses on our website.
Tariff-free Imports
The EU stated that it tightened steel safeguard measure to shield the EU steel industry from increasing imports, in line with the Steel and Metals Action Plan. The measure includes reducing the liberalisation rate from 1% to 0.1%, limiting the amount of steel that can be imported into the EU tariff-free. The safeguard measure lapses on 30 June 2026.
Modern Slavery
The UK Government published guidance for businesses on slavery and human trafficking in supply chains. It includes actions that business should consider to tackle modern slavery.
SUSTAINABILITY
Energy Performance of Buildings
The European Commission is consulting until 7 May 2025 on the rules on calculating cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements for new buildings, existing buildings undergoing major renovation, and individual building elements. The revision is required by Article 6(1) of the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Our overview of the recast Directive is available here: How to get a Net-Zero Building Stock: Q&As on the Recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
The European Commission is also consulting until 5 May 2025 on templates for transferring information from national energy performance databases to the EU Building Stock Observatory.
Ecodesign
The European Commission is consulting on a revision, in light of technological progress, of the 2009 ecodesign measure setting minimum energy efficiency requirements for circulators (devices that circulate water in the heating or cooling systems of a building). The 2009 standard is described as having led to a significant market transformation, providing substantial energy savings for end users.
CBAM
An Implementing Regulation on conditions and procedures related to the status of authorised CBAM declarants applies from 28 March 2025. The CBAM applies in respect of certain goods imported into the EU, including cement, iron and steel, and aluminium. The details are available in our briefing: New Rules indicate Lead-in Time to obtain Authorised CBAM Declarant Status.
Corporate Reporting
The European Parliament voted to postpone application of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, under the proposed "stop the clock" Directive. We look further at the implications of the "stop the clock" Directive in our briefing: European Parliament Approves "Stop the Clock" Directive Proposal.
Climate Action Plan 2025
The Government published the annual update to the Climate Action Plan. Actions for 2025 in the built environment focus on actions required by the Recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Legacy actions carried over from previous Plans are listed at the end of the Annex of Actions (including development of a roadmap for long-term decarbonisation of commercial building stock and development of a Circular Economy Roadmap for the construction sector).
New European Bauhaus Facility
The Commission published a Roadmap for implementing the New European Bauhaus Facility. The facility is a financing instrument intended to promote access to affordable housing, and support innovation towards a sustainable and circular construction ecosystem.
CASE LAW
Clarity is Key
In ongoing litigation in Point Village Development Ltd ("plaintiff") v Dunnes Stores Unlimited Company ("defendant"), the High Court imposed an order (later amended by the Corut of Appeal) on the defendant, requiring it to take certain actions. These included submitting "Fit Out Plans" and carrying out certain "Fit out Works", as defined in a 2008 Development Agreement between the parties in relation to an "anchor unit" in the Point Village Centre, which was developed by the plaintiff.
A recent judgment ([2025] IEHC 212) deals with an application by the plaintiff for orders against the defendant, including for contempt of court. One of the key complaints of the plaintiff was that the Fit Out Plans and work carried out did not address the entire area of the unit acquired by the defendant, but rather a small portion of the area. However, the Court did not grant the plaintiff's application. The Court was not required in this application to resolve the contractual dispute between the parties; rather, it was sufficient to hold that the plaintiff had not established beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was in contempt of the orders. The plaintiff was asking the Court to infer that the meaning of "anchor unit" was so clear that it could only mean the entire space available to the defendant. However, in the absence of a contractual specification or judicial determination to that effect, that level of clarity was not achieved. There could be widely differing views as to what might constitute compliance by the defendant with the earlier order.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
