Opinion – Page 628
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Do yourself a mischief
Construction professionals won't want to be without these new guides – even if they do have to get a hernia picking up the first, Emden's Construction Law
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A question of … timing
The 28-day deadline gives neither the parties nor the adjudicator proper time to ensure that quality decisions are reached. We need a more sensible period
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The avenger
It was a bank holiday when the call came. Emergency gas leak, or so they thought. Here was a chance to pay back all those years of being messed around …
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This really works …
The pre-action protocol aims to make litigation less nasty by giving litigants the chance to be civil to one another. To the surprise of its opponents, it does so
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Mind the hidden extras
The construction courts have reinterpreted two JCT contracts – which will land many design-and-build firms with more risk than they'd bargained for
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Why we're too white
So Prince Charles thinks farmers are more victimised than blacks or gays.
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… but it could be better
Speaking of the pre-action protocol, why not have one prior to adjudication? At the very least, it would offer a chance to set the rules of engagement
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The accidental tourist
Instead of despairing when the next Tube strike hits, Londoners should slip on their walking shoes and experience the pleasures of a long, slow look at their city
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A tragic obsession
The rule is that if you refuse to mediate before you litigate, you get walloped with the costs of the case – even if you win. This case is a very sad exception
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The end … for now
The letter of the law is not always as final as you might think; the wording of settlements can leave room for claimants to come back for seconds
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What's wrong with hospitals?
What is the final great architectural frontier waiting to be crossed? Mobile prefab pods? Space stations? Walking cities? I nominate here-and-now hospitals and health clinics. Of all building types, none has the complexity of a major hospital. And none is such a matter of life and death for its customers. ...
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Smell the coffee
If the Construction Industry Council is dreaming that it can turn the clock back to the discredited days of the independent consultant, it will have a rude awakening
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Between the wars
Writing from Soweto, the RIBA president reflects on how old ideological struggles have given way to an even more daunting battle with poverty and ecological collapse
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Who'll protect us from our protectors?
As firms spend more and more money to buy less and less insurance cover, the industry and its clients are lurching towards a crisis. Is there any relief in sight?
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The PFI booster
The new Guidance on Standardisation of PFI Contracts is something of a mixed bag for building contractors, but may succeed in giving the PFI a vital shot in the arm …
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What a relief!
Insolvency law in the UK has always been very kind to banks and the crown, and very cruel to unsecured creditors. Now parliament is about redress the balance …
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No more surprised parties
In adjudication, the referring party must present both sides of the story. If it doesn't, the other side can shout foul – but can't suddenly come up with new arguments
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A bit of strategic thinking
Meet Peter Rogers, the new Mr Construction. Like his predecessor Sir John Egan, he is a top client and, although not exactly one of Tony's cronies, he's in the New Labour loop. But that's where the similarity ends. Egan, who made his name at Jaguar, was always the outsider; Rogers ...