Opinion 鈥� Page 641
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Comment
Taking the initiative
Small firms are shut out of PFI projects because the Treasury doesn't understand what they have to offer: the difference between success and failure
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Comment
Follow that kiwi
New Zealand has just published a Construction Contracts Bill that is much like our own Construction Act … but better. Here's how it's going to work
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Comment
Re-drawing the line
The Construction Act makes bizarre distinctions between what does and does not fall within its payment and adjudication provisions. Pencils out, everyone
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Comment
It takes a bit of give
The NHS' standard form contracts are more flexible than they appear. The challenge for parties is to be persuasive when making the case for changing them
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Comment
The pleasure principle
Surveyors and architects be warned: if you don't bring your client the happiness the contract leads them to expect, you may well be liable for damages
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Comment
A right Charlie
Charlie Luxton, TV's latest wunderkind, should stop spouting misguided opinions that play into the hands of the anti-housing, pro-Tory home counties
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Comment
Loser pays, we all win
Far from deterring people from using adjudication, allowing the winning party to recover its costs from the loser will make the process more accessible
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Comment
Promises, promises
Pity the subbie who thought that an oral agreement to foot a 拢1.3m bill could be relied on. It couldn't, and the subbie had to pay. The story begins in 1677 …
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Comment
Insuring against terrorism
With the UK looking like a target for terrorist attacks, how do existing standard form contracts deal with the implications?
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Comment
On shaky grounds
Few neighbour disputes can match those that begin when shared foundations need work. The Party Wall Act is there to help resolve such disputes – but does it?
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Comment
Conran the Barbarian
Nobody could accuse Sir Terence of being crude, but his legacy of anorexic good taste may be a more dangerous enemy of exciting design
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Comment
The common touch
We know that pay-when-paid clauses were partially outlawed by the Construction Act, but how do they fare under common law?
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Comment
Watch the small print
Buried in a footnote of JCT 98 is jumbo-size trap: if your dispute goes to court, the case has to be fought as if no adjudication took place. Tread carefully
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Comment
The untouchables
An expert witness you call to help win your case may turn out to be incompetent and deceitful, but he or she is still immune from any action you may take
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Comment
Procure for all ills
Things always go wrong when things are being built. But combine a novice client with a new procurement method, and it could spell disaster
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Comment
Be reasonable
Clients should be wary of loading contracts with terms like 'highest standards' and 'best endeavours'. Sometimes you can get more by asking for less
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Comment
Independence daze
How do arbitrators square their duty not to be swayed by outside pressure with their fear of being given the boot by the High Court? With difficulty, alas
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Comment
The name's bond – adjudication bond
If on-demand bonds are too onerous and conditional bonds too slow, could adjudication bonds provide the answer?
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Comment
Tales of the unexpected
Ever since the Construction Act was passed, judges have been wrestling with the question of what constitutes a construction contract. Their answers have been surprising
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Comment
Planning's chink of light
The British planning system is in a terrible state – but Lord Falconer's reforms could mean there is light at the end of the tunnel