Another busy year for the Technology and Construction Court

The Technology and Construction Court has published its annual Report, outlining how it has handled business and cases during the period 2005/06.

The Technology and Construction Court (TCC) is a specialist court that deals primarily with litigation arising in the field of construction and technology, covering areas that include: traditional ‘building’ cases, adjudication enforcement, engineering disputes, professional negligence claims and IT disputes.

Last year saw an increase in the number of new cases brought in the London TCC, with 392 brought last year compared to 364 in 2004/05. The number of contested trials also increased last year, with 48 in 2005/06 compared to 38 in 2004/05. The longest of these lasted 31 days.

There have been a number of key events for the TCC throughout the year, which include the following:

• Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 the Lord Chancellor’s power to nominate circuit judges, deputy circuit judges or recorders to deal with “official referees’ business” in the TCC passed to the Lord Chief Justice. By a written delegation dated 25th April 2006 the Lord Chief Justice delegated that authority to the judge in charge of the TCC. The judge in charge of the TCC is required to consult with the Lord Chancellor and the senior judiciary before exercising that authority. Since the implementation of those constitutional reforms TCC authorisations have been given to two circuit judges and ten recorders.
• Publication of the TCC Guide’s second edition on 3 October 2005. Feedback from court users and the profession had been generally positive. Publication was followed by a series of seminars around the country on the use of the TCC Guide.
• TCC user committees continue to function at Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Newcastle and Salford. These committees make a valuable contribution to the work of the court. For example, user committee members provided detailed feedback and comments during two consultation exercises held during the year 2005/06.

Ends