Abstracts » Construction and materials industries

The friend of the court

Article Abstract:

Ian Duncan Wallace QC has expressed practical concerns about the implications of the 1996 Construction Act for contract administration and dispute resolution. He has been very critical of the removal of the courts' discretion to hear a case in appropriate circumstances, regardless of the existence of an arbitration agreement between the parties in dispute. He is particularly concerned about the 'no genuine defence' situation, where, if the case were to go through the courts, the claimant could benefit from the courts' jurisdiction to grant summary judgment or order interim payments.

Beliefs, opinions and attitudes, Arbitration (Administrative law), Administrative arbitration, Wallace, Ian Duncan

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Last-minute nerves

Article Abstract:

The UK Dept of the Environment, Transport and the Regions has made changes to the powers contained within the Scheme for Construction Contracts, the fall-back rules for payment and adjudication under the Construction Act, for adjudicators to review, ignore or revise decisions and certificates of the contract administrator appointed under the Construction Act. Now, the adjudicator will not have the power to review the contract administrator's decisions and certificates in cases where in the contract provided by the parties such decisions and certificates are final and conclusive.

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French lessons

Article Abstract:

Specialist subcontractors in the UK will have to wait until Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 becomes law, probably not until May 1998, to see whether it will really improve their payment conditions. Their situation contrasts sharply with that of subcontractors in continental Europe, where it is already possible to have recourse to legal action if payment abuse takes place. In France, for example, direct payment is obligatory for public projects, while for private schemes the subcontractor is able to trigger the right to direct payment.

Subcontracting

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