TMA04: English Law and Dispute Resolution in Small Craft Surveying

This report provides an analysis of the application of English law in resolving contractual disputes within the context of small craft surveying. It highlights the advantages of English law, including its emphasis on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), mediation confidentiality, and its foundation in common law, making it transparent, predictable, and flexible. The report discusses circumstances under which English law is applied, identifies key parties involved in dispute resolution, and outlines the process of settling damage claims, particularly when a vessel under construction is damaged by a third party. It covers the steps for claiming resettlement under the third party's insurance and the surveyor's own insurance policy. Furthermore, the report includes a six-month work plan for repairing vessel damages, emphasizing essential insurance covers like third-party public liability, professional indemnity, and employer’s liability insurance to manage financial risks during the repair period. The report is relevant to the TMA04 requirements of the Diploma in Small Craft Surveying.

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Introduction
Contractual agreements need proper method of resolving available disputes. This paper will look
the importance of having the English law as the proper law of solving contractual disputes.
Additionally, the paper will analyze the merits of these laws and why they have to be preferred
for a surveyor. In addition, the paper will look at the circumstances when the English law will be
applied. Moreover, the paper will also analyze the important parties who will be involved in the
solving of the disputes using the English law. Also, when damage occurs unto a property, claims
are requested by the parties, this paper will analyze the process of resettling those claims. For the
surveyors, damage can occur while their vessels are under construction. In this section, the paper
will analyze the standard procedure of claiming a resettlement when damage has been caused by
a third party. In addition, analysis of the important persons who are involved in the resettlement
process for the damage caused to the surveyor will also be done. Most important, this section
will look the process which the surveyor can follow to claim resettlement under the insurance
agency of the third party and also the process of claiming compensation on his or her own
insurance. Lastly, this paper will provide a standard work plan for the next six month for the
surveyor while repairing the damages caused. The section will look at key insurance covers
which will be needed. These covers will be analyzed in details of the specific overheads which
will be covered and need to be compensated within such periods. The covers will be provided to
ensure that the cash flow of the company is not affected while covering for unbudgeted expenses
in this period.
Task 2
In resolving contracts disputes, English law is considered to be one of the best laws to address
relevant issues which may arise. For a law to be considered the best, it must provide different
alternatives of resolving disputes. English law gives priority to Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR) methods in order to help the parties settle the cases outside the court (Slapper & Kelly
2010). Even after failure of the other mechanisms and the case has to be resolved in court, the
English law holds high priority to the mediation confidentiality (Wild, Weinstein, Smith &
Keenan 2013). The confidentiality means that even after the parties are unable to resolve the
dispute outside the court and the court process is reactivated, the content of mediation
proceedings are not disclosed to the judge. In addition, the development of the contractual law in
English law is based on the common law. The high legal knowledge in the commercial courts
concerning the use of common law in a commercial way makes the English law the best in
resolving contractual disputes.
In addition, when using a method to resolve disputes, it is important to choose a law which is
transparent and predictable. The English law has these major characteristics and it will be perfect
for the client in this case to choose the English law (Slapper & Kelly, 2017). English law was
developed from the combination of statute and case law which are used to determine cases using
the common law. The law therefore offers guideline in every step and any issues arising between

the parties. Through the guidelines and proceedings, the parties can therefore be able to predict
with greater certainty on the outcome of the cases and therefore opt to use the best mechanism to
resolve the disputes (Riley & Sours, 2014). Many civil laws are unpredictable and thus cannot be
preferred for this case.
In addition, the English law is more flexible and is able to allow different arrangements unlike
many civil law systems (Pollock 2015). The English law is based on the principle of freedom of
contracts and therefore allows more flexible arrangements. The key principle which is used is the
freedom of contracts where the different parties are bound only to their terms of agreements and
which are attractive to commercial parties. Under the English law, the parties have the freedom
to make agreement whereby each party will be able to gain and therefore giving them the
flexibility of arrangements (Anson 2015). This is not a common practice of many civil codes and
therefore makes the English law best suited in this case.
Lastly, the English law supports the needs of modern commerce. Through this, the law is able to
look at the current needs in the market and evolve with them. This means that the decisions
which are made are based on current practices (In Burrows, 2015 and Forsyth, Wade, & Wade
2014). According to the common law system which the English law uses, the judge is required to
decide what the law is when there is no other authoritative statement in the law. The decision of
an appellate court binds future decisions of the same appellate court on similar cases and binds
all power courts. Nevertheless, a review by high court or legislature may overturn the decision
and bring new meaning under the common law (In Garner 2014). Therefore this legal system
means that a law can evolve more than the statute law in order to adapt to current trends,
practices and behaviors in the modern society. Any disputes on the content of the contract can be
therefore resolved with the previous cases and also use of the current contractual practices.
Task 3
Since handing over of vessel A had not been done, the ownership is technically still under the
contractor and he or she is most responsible to make the claim against vessel B against the
damage caused. The handing over of vessel A as per the case had not taken place and therefore
the contractor has the main obligation to file the claim against vessel B. When contracted to
carry out the works, the contractor assumes the ownership of the vessel until the handing over of
the vessel is done.
The process of making the claim starts with reporting of the damage made to the relevant areas.
This helps to make sure that the relevant bodies and organs who are involved in this case are
made aware of the incident (Dougherty, 2015). The owner of the vessel B, the insurance agency
a surveyor vessel A insurance and the owner of vessel A are the main parties who are notified of
the accident. Since the owner of vessel B has insurance, the insurance agency for vessel B has to
be notified. The first step the contractor will take is to notify the insurance of the accident

involving the vessels. This is the start of the journey of making a claim for settlement. In
addition, the contractor may appoint a surveyor who will make a claim to the insurance.
The surveyor will be able to file the claim to the owner of vessel B. After that the owner of the
vessel will file the claim involving the damages on the third part. The next step is sourcing of
evidence by the surveyor and insurance agency. After that confirmation of the accident will be
reported and the demonstration of loss occurrence be recorded. Then, the insurance agency will
survey to access the damage. Different parties will be involved in the assessment of the damage.
This will ensure that the proper settlement claim is paid. After the analysis, the insurance will
analyze the possibilities which can be used to settle the claim. This will involve different options
such as monetary repayment for the vessels or repair of the vessels. The insurance agency will
also determine the legitimacy of the claim filled and whether it is covered under the insurance
contractual terms (Volume 5, 2015). Different risks are insured differently and the insurer has to
make sure that the claims raised are legit and covered according to contract agreement. After
confirming that the claim is legit and covered, the insurance agency will choose the perfect
method for compensation. The insurance agency will therefore notify the insurer of the preferred
method of settling the claim. In addition, the insurance agency will file a report concerning the
payment of the claim (Dougherty, 2015). After the process, the insurance agency will settle the
claim. In settling the claim, the agency will compensate the owner of vessel A and the vessel B
owner according to the damage they were able to experience due to the incident.
In addition, if the contractor has an insurance cover for the vessel while under construction, he or
she can make a claim to be compensated for the loss. The same process will be used to make the
claim under the owner’s insurance agency. The contractor will start by reporting the accident to
the insurance agency or appoint a surveyor to follow the claim resettlement process (Volume 5,
2015). He or she will file the claim with the insurance agency who in turn will take the
responsibility to analyze and investigate the legitimacy of the claim and determine whether it
was covered. If they found the claim is legit and were covered, the insurance agency will
determine the correct method of settlement for the loss incurred. After war they will settle the
clam according to the agreement made.
Task 4
Having experienced the delays in the construction of the vessel A for six months, the company is
set to reschedule its work plan. For the first one month, the company will take off the wreckage
and determine the key areas which need to be repaired and the amount of repair needed. At the
same time, the compensation program will be done to ensure that important materials are
procured within the next two months. The resettlement of the damage claim will be taken for
three months. Procurement of materials will be also carried in the first three month after the
extension is provided. In the fourth month, repair works will be made and it will be carried for
the fourth and fifth month. Testing of the vessel will be carried on the beginning of the sixth

month. The sixth month will be also used to analyze whether all the details are met and then the
handing over of the vessel will be carried at the end of the month.
Insurance against the damages while the vessel is under construction is important for the
contractor. They will ensure that any damage experienced on the vessel will be compensated for.
The insurance agreement will be taken on specific causes such as destruction by other third
parties without their will (Taylor 2009). Third party public liability insurance will be important
in this section. This insurance cover will ensure that all losses caused to third party while the
vessel is under construction and testing will be compensated by the insurance agency. This cover
will ensure that the contractor does not bear the costs of compensating third parties or the public
who they experience damage while the surveyor is carrying his or her duties.
In addition, professional indemnity insurance will be important to ensure the contractor is
covered against errors which may occur while correcting the damage caused (United States
2014). This cover will ensure that future errors will not be experienced directly by the contractor
and that the insurance agency will compensate them. The errors and omissions will be mostly
likely type of cover which this part of vessel will be taken against. This is because the contractor
may miss some details during the repair of the vessel.
Moreover, the employer’s liability insurance cover will be taken by the contracting company.
This cover will ensure that the company does not experience much loss during the six months
without much income (Worku 2010). This cover will be used to compensate for any challenges
experienced with workers while they are performing their duties for the company. Mostly, this
cover will be able to take care of the safety of the employees and cover for their health expenses
in case they are ill while at work. In addition, this cover will ensure that the works for the repair
of the vessel is well maintained. Income protection cover will also be taken by the company
(Joshi 2018). This will ensure that in case of any illness or injury, the company will not
experience the loss of paying the wages of an employee who is not at work. This cover will
ensure that the insurance company covers the income need of such employees.

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