Opinion – Page 636
-
Comment
Strength in perversity
These days, a building's quality is defined by whether it works as an advertisement for itself – a fact brought home by one wilful masterpiece that doesn't
-
Comment
The reckoning
Is adjudication living up to our hopes? Hardly, when it has increased disputes, failed to deal satisfactorily with complex cases and become prey to bully-boy tactics
-
Comment
One way to look at it
A firm working for Alfred McAlpine put a whole load of different disputes in one basket and presented it to an adjudicator … What happened next?
-
Comment
Prudence's big gamble
So, what did Gordon Brown do for – or to – us in the Budget? Depending on your degree of cynicism, he either put 42 new hospitals in the post, or republicised those already sent. Either way, the good news is that a glistening 21-century NHS will boost employment through ...
-
Comment
Business as usual
The City largely ignores construction, believing it to be far too risky an enterprise. We should return the compliment and just get on with making money
-
Comment
The claimant strikes back
A judge may not like it when a party fails to comply with a court order, but they should think twice before striking out the claim altogether
-
Comment
An offer you can't refuse
Is mediation now mandatory? Well, parties that refuse an offer to mediate without good reason may find they lose out on costs even when they they win the case
-
Comment
Poor Superman
Referees are supposed to be the superheroes in construction disputes. Now they're just as likely to be cast as persecutor – before turning into victim
-
Comment
Suit yourself
You don't have to go bespoke to get a contract that suits. A nip here, a cut-and-paste clause there, can keep everyone happy. Just be careful with the scissors
-
Comment
Built on sand?
Poor housebuilders. For nearly a decade, they've given the City what they thought it always wanted – year-on-year growth in profits and, latterly, double-digit margins. The response from the Square Mile? Utter indifference. The sector is rated at less than half the stock exchange average. Even contractors, with their 2%-if-you're-lucky ...
-
Comment
IT is not the answer
We all know IT will mobilise construction, giving everyone a faster, better service – and we are all wrong. In fact, like any tool, it's only as good as those who use it
-
Comment
Events, dear boy, events
Life has a way of blowing a hole in a construction programme, but if a draft delay protocol is adopted, contractors will need to get it right from the start.
-
Comment
Within reasons
If an adjudicator's decision is made up of several conclusions, do those all count as binding decisions as well, or are they reasons? It's a pretty thorny question
-
Comment
Can adjudicators add interest?
According to John Redmond, an adjudicator cannot add interest to a debt unless the contract specifically allows them to. But there's a counter argument to be put …
-
Comment
Labour's philosophical fog
So, health minister John Hutton has suddenly realised what construction knew months ago: it is already too late to deliver his new hospitals before the next election. His offer to subsidise bids, truncate tender lists and hire more Whitehall project managers has, therefore, the hallmarks of political panic (pages 28-29). ...