Civil Engineering Project Management (4th Edition)
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concerning a contractor’s claim, nor does he have to make a decision on a<br />
claim, which does not give ‘full and detailed particulars of the amount claimed’<br />
(Clause 53(4) and (6)). However, once the engineer finds some payment due in<br />
respect of a claim he must certify this payment in the next interim payment to<br />
the contractor.<br />
If the engineer decides that some payment is due to a contractor but unreasonably<br />
fails to certify it in the next certificate; or if the employer fails to pay part<br />
or all of an amount certified for payment by the engineer, the employer has to<br />
pay to the contractor ‘interest compounded monthly for each day on which<br />
the payment is overdue or which should have been certified’ (Clause 60(7)). The<br />
same clause provides that should a matter in dispute go to arbitration, and ‘the<br />
arbitrator holds that any sum or additional sum should have been certified by<br />
a particular date’ then interest will be payable on it, starting from 28 days after<br />
the engineer should have certified the sum. The rate stipulated is 2 per cent<br />
above the base lending rate of the bank specified in the Appendix to tender.<br />
It should be noted that this interest is only applicable following a failure by<br />
the employer or the engineer. There is no general provision that interest is due<br />
for any gap in time between the costs being incurred and an amount being<br />
included in a certificate; much less so if any delay is due to a contractor failing<br />
to supply details of his claim.<br />
17.14 Adjudication<br />
Variations and claims 221<br />
The Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act, 1996, (see Section 1.6)<br />
introduced for the first time in English Law a requirement that all construction<br />
contracts must include certain terms. These include payment provisions as set<br />
out in Section 1.6 and also provisions to allow either party to take any dispute to<br />
adjudication at any time. Most standard conditions were immediately amended<br />
to comply with the law, but for those, which were not so amended, the provisions<br />
of The Scheme for Construction Contracts Regulations 1998 will apply. The<br />
provisions of the Act apply to all construction works and work associated with<br />
construction in the UK such as architecture, design and surveying. There are<br />
some limited exceptions such as drilling for oil or gas, supply of materials and<br />
erection of machinery as set out in the Act but in effect most construction<br />
contracts and related consultancy agreements will be included.<br />
The provisions of the Act require that should a dispute arise under the contract<br />
then this dispute can be referred to adjudication at any time and appointment<br />
of an adjudicator must follow within 7 days. The adjudicator must act<br />
impartially and is given wide powers to ascertain the facts and the law. He must<br />
reach his decision within 28 days or a longer period if agreed by both parties.<br />
This period is seen by some as too short for major and complex disputes but<br />
appears to have worked well in practice for straightforward matters including<br />
technical issues, simple claims and claims for non payment. While most standard<br />
forms of contract always had similar provisions, the introduction of