In May of this year, the AMINZ Council approved the new AMINZ Arbitration Rules. The Rules were result of extensive work by the drafting committee, chaired by me and assisted by Sir David Williams QC from Bankside Chambers in Auckland, Wendy Miles QC from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in London, James Hosking from Chaffetz Lindsey LLP in New York, Daniel Kalderimis from Chapman Tripp in Wellington, Timothy Lindsay from Lindsay litigation-arbitration in Auckland and Sophie East from Bell Gully in Auckland.
Musings of a busy mind
On Monday, 13 November 2017, AMINZ ran a one day seminar on resolving disputes in the construction industry. The day was chaired by Derek Firth, and presentations were made by Stuart Robertson, from Kensington Swan in Auckland, on the role of the Engineer; Janine Stewart, from Minster Ellison Rudd Watts in Auckland, on adjudication under the Construction Contracts Act 2002; Michael Weatherall, from Simpson Grierson in Auckland, on the use of disputes boards; and I rounded out the day on the use of arbitration.
There is growing acceptance across the construction industry, particularly among financiers and owners, that payments need to flow down the contract chain to those actually doing the work. This has seen a growth in construction contracts requiring head contractors to prove payment of their subcontractors, if cashflow is to continue; and in financiers also requiring proof of such payment. Similarly, head contractors are seeking direct payment obligations from project financiers to protect themselves against developer default.