Opinion – Page 637
-
Comment
Legal letters
Nick Henchie's guide to ways of dodging adjudication and Andrew Pike's call to scrap JCT contracts provoked a bulging postbag. Here's a small selection of readers' thoughts …
-
Comment
Beyond these shores
If you're carrying out a construction project abroad, you need to be aware of the potential pitfalls. Start by finding out which country's law applies
-
Comment
Jams and pile-ups ahead
The sequence of notices on payment and suspension is in a right tangle. Recent decisions by both judges and adjudicators only tighten the knots
-
Comment
Was Gaudí any good?
As one grows up, eccentricity becomes charming in people – but in architecture, it's can get bit too close to kitsch for comfort
-
Comment
Losing your inhibitions
In Scotland? Worried that the chap you're in dispute with is about to scarper? You used to be able to have his assets frozen in a jiffy. Not any more …
-
Comment
New life in old claims
Two recent cases mean that concealed defects can still come back to haunt builders, even if they are found many years after the building is completed
-
Comment
Protect and survive
Small businesses suffer most from the 'domino effect' of insolvency in the construction industry. Missed opportunities to put things right mean the task is now urgent
-
Comment
Colourful language
The JCT is busy churning out new forms of contract: a blue one for subbies, orange ones for construction managers and a transparent one for homeowners
-
Comment
Why Blair should worry
Scandal to a politician is like manure to a pig farmer – an inevitable, if not enjoyable, part of the job. However, it can prise power from the strongest PMs
-
Comment
Just the ticket
One of the attractions of making Railtrack's successor a company limited by guarantee is that neither the government nor its members will go down if it flops
-
Comment
All or nothing at all
If you challenge an adjudicator's decision, then you have to take it on in its entirety. Indicate that there are parts of it you accept, and you will lose everything
-
Comment
Dumb and dumber
Adjudicators are full of bright ideas about the law but if they don't tell the parties about one until the decision, isn't that a breach of natural justice?
-
Comment
Smooth operator
The SCL protocol on extensions of time isn't a contractual obligation, but used correctly it can keep a contract running on time and without disputes
-
Comment
It's a girl thing
Why does it seem that the women in construction are so much more worried about keeping staff happy? Come on guys, admit there's a problem
-
Comment
Catch of the day
Win or lose, at least you used to know where you stood with costs and payments into court. Nowadays it's a grey area that can easily become a swirling fog
-
Comment
Don't even think about it
Adjudication is potentially so flawed that even a lousy claim stands a chance of success. So for main contractors and employers, deterrence is the name of the game