Dear Members,

The Society of Construction Law, since its inception ?ve years ago, has provided members and their guests a convenient meeting point to gather socially and intellectually and discuss matters of mutual interest relating to construction law and practice.

The Society is an “extra-curricular activity” of volunteers who are busy practitioners. Thankfully, with active guidance from a dedicated and enthusiastic council and support from an able secretariat, the Society has evolved steadily since its inception in 2002, with now about 150 members and an array of educational and social events. Those who have yet to do so might want to foray into our website at www.scl.org.sg for archives of facts, details and photographs of our events.

Pursuant to the meetings of the various SCLs in Singapore during the International Conference in October 2006, the SCL in England has recently been in contact with us and other SCLs (including the recently formed new addition in Mauritius). One of the initiatives by the SCL in England has been to simplify and standardize the SCL logo to be used by SCLs around the world, and accompanied by the name of the respective country, so that SCLs around the world can have a solid identity that we can all share. The new standardized logo appears on the masthead of this newsletter.

The next International SCL Conference is being organized by the SCL in England to take place in London in October 2008. It will be a good idea to mark this event in your calendars, as the SCL there is planning an event along the size and quality of our memorable international conference in Singapore in 2006.

The Society’s plans for 2008 include a joint conference with the NUS School of Building and the Environment, in addition to our annual joint conference with the Law Society; seminars, including some to be held in conjunction with the respective reports issued by the three Working Groups on contracts, costs and codes; as well as a couple of networking events for members.

On behalf of the Council, I wish all members a great and vibrant year ahead, success in their work and endeavours, as well as time to relax and enjoy the fruits of their labours.

Best Wishes,

Naresh Mahtani
Chairman, Society of Construction Law (Singapore)