Mediation in construction disputes in England

AuthorJackie Gregory-Stevens, Ian Frame, Christian Henjewele
PositionDepartment of Engineering and the Built Environment, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
Pages123-136
Mediation in construction
disputes in England
Jackie Gregory-Stevens, Ian Frame and Christian Henjewele
Department of Engineering and the Built Environment,
Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
Abstract
Purpose – Adjudication was introduced to the English construction industry in 1996 in response to its
litigious nature. At the time, adjudication aimed to provide a time-efcient, cost-effective solution to
construction disputes. The industry is concerned that adjudication is not always providing the expected
benets due to increasing cost, the length of time it takes to resolve disputes and the difculty in
maintaining good relationships between the parties in dispute. Mediation is recommended here as a
most desirable approach to resolving disputes without affecting the relationship between the parties.
However, the benets of mediation have not been fully appreciated by all due to slow uptake. This paper
aims to identify barriers to the greater use of meditation the English construction industry.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents results from a study that investigated issues
preventing greater use of mediation. The study involved 20 case studies of previous dispute resolutions,
ten in-depth interviews and 357 usable responses to a structured questionnaire survey involving the
English construction industry.
Findings The research found a limited detailed awareness of mediation within the English
construction industry due to a lack of detailed knowledge among industry stakeholders and a lack of
emphasis from construction contracts. The study revealed that there is strong support for adjudication;
however, the majority of those with experience of adjudication would prefer to use mediation as the rst
step in resolving disputes.
Originality/value – This research identies the support required for mediation and its preference
among those with and without prior knowledge of both adjudication and mediation for the English
construction industry. The paper provides an insight into barriers that need to be addressed to increase
use of mediation.
Keywords Mediation, Alternative, Construction, Dispute, Adjudication, Resolution
Paper type Technical paper
Introduction
Disputes in the English construction industry have been the subject of a number of
Government reviews in an attempt to reduce both the issues that cause the disputes and
offer a cost-effective, time-efcient solution to resolve these disputes should they arise
(Richbell, 2008,p.1;Latham, 1994, p. 87). It is estimated that disputes cost the
construction industry 2 per cent of the annual turnover (Richbell, 2008, p. 1), and this is
signicant when compared to a prot margin of only 3 per cent per annum.
Prior to the enactment of The Housing Grants (Construction and Regeneration) Act
1996 (HGCRA), the only options for the resolution of disputes to the industry were
arbitration or the courts. The introduction of adjudication to the construction industry
through the HGCRA was of signicant help, enabling disputes to be resolved as the
The authors would like to thank Babcock for its sponsorship of the research used in this paper.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1756-1450.htm
Mediation in
construction
disputes
123
Received 24 February 2015
Revised 7 August 2015
Accepted 8 August 2015
InternationalJournal of Law in the
BuiltEnvironment
Vol.8 No. 2, 2016
pp.123-136
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1756-1450
DOI 10.1108/IJLBE-02-2015-0004

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT