Harold Crowter
A paper given to the Society of Construction Law Hong Kong on 30 March 2006
There is no statutory adjudication in Hong Kong, as there is in the UK. Parties to construction disputes tend to opt for negotiation, possibly mediation, and if that fails, arbitration. Adjudication has also been introduced in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. In some states in Australia, construction arbitration has all but disappeared, as it has in the UK. Elsewhere there is a more pragmatic use of adjudication alongside other forms of dispute resolution such as mediation, conciliation, arbitration and litigation.
Having discussed the advantages and disadvantages of adjudication, the author introduces an alternative, "100 Day Arbitration Procedure". In his view, the adoption of the 100 Day Arbitration Procedure, with appropriate amendments, might be an acceptable alternative to adjudication in Hong Kong, maintaining all of the many advantages of arbitration, but with a tight timetable to ensure costs are kept within bounds and the delay in obtaining a final, binding, decision is kept to the minimum.
The author: Harold Crowter, a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, Chartered Builder and Chartered Arbitrator is the Chairman of Crowters Forensic Quantity Surveyors/International Dispute Resolution, based in the UK. He is a former Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.