The United Kingdom's energy infrastructure is currently undergoing its most radical transformation since the mid-20th century. For engineering professionals, we have moved past the era of theoretical white papers and policy debates; we are now firmly in the delivery phase of a multi-billion-pound energy renaissance. From the complex physics of nuclear fusion becoming concrete ...

The United Kingdom stands on the precipice of an infrastructure renaissance, backed by a staggering £718 billion pipeline. Yet, as the blueprints for tomorrow’s nation are drawn, a stark reality threatens to stall progress: we may simply not have the engineers equipped to build it. For professionals across the UK engineering and manufacturing sectors, the coming decade ...

In the often-overlooked world of subterranean infrastructure, a quiet revolution is taking place beneath Britain’s pavements. For decades, the standard response to a leaking pipe or a gas main upgrade was the jackhammer, the excavator, and the inevitable gridlock of temporary traffic lights. However, new financial results from North Yorkshire suggest that the era of 'dig and ...

BS 8500 & The 2026 Concrete Shift: Is Your Spec Ready for the New Baseline? By The Engineering Editorial Team If you are still copying and pasting concrete specifications from previous years, your projects are now at risk of technical queries and potential non-compliance. As we move into 2026, the landscape for concrete specification in the UK has fundamentally ...

SAFETY ALERT: HSE Inspection Surge & New 'Falls are Preventable' Campaign – Are You Ready? By Alistair Thorne-Pritchard Content Strategist & Engineering SME If you are a site engineer or supervisor operating in the UK today, the margin for error regarding Work at Height Regulations has just vanished. While safety is always paramount, the regulatory temperature has ...

Legal sovereignty is a political concept that gives States the power to govern themselves and the people within a state. It is the ultimate source of legal power and autonomy.  In a monarchy, a king or queen has sovereign power.  It is sovereignty that allows a State to create laws, like a constitution, and create/protect its border from other sovereign States.  That is, one ...

If the proper law of the contract has not been identified in the contract through a governing law clause, and it cannot be inferred from the express or implied intentions of the parties, the court will apply its jurisdiction’s conflict of laws rules to determine which legal system applies to the contract.  Where that analysis dictates that another jurisdiction’s legal system ...

There are many ways to draft a governing law clause. For our purposes, and to keep things manageable, we will focus on three types of governing law clauses, which will be referred to as: 1) simplified, 2) excluding, and 3) combined clauses.  A simplified governing law clause names a governing law jurisdiction, such as Ontario or New York state. It is “simple” in that it is ...

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (“CISG”) is a treaty that is binding on all States that sign it. That is, it becomes law in that State. It is an example of a uniform law.  The CISG was created by The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in 1980. Under its terms, any party in a Contracting State ...

Yes, they can. In fact, it is a good idea to reference them whenever they apply.  The International Organization for Standardization publishes the international standards, known as “ISO standards”.  ISO standards are not law.  They are internationally agreed upon best practices and standards created by experts for the benefit of manufacturers, sellers, buyers, customers, ...

There are two legal regimes that apply to intellectual property (“IP”) rights in technology agreements: 1) contract law, and 2) IP law. Privity of contract applies between the parties to a contract such that only the parties to the contract can enforce any rights or obligations under the contract. IP laws are a subset of property law and as such, can be enforced against ...

For the most part, yes. Arbitration is often the chosen dispute resolution method in international contracts because it’s faster and less costly than litigation, the parties can choose the governing law and procedural rules for the arbitration, and they can choose the arbitrator or a panel of arbitrators. Unlike a court case, which is public and can be appealed, arbitration ...