A.D.R. - Antipodean Dispute Resolution

Tomas Kennedy-Grant

March 2005

A paper presented to a meeting of the Society of Construction Law in London on 12th October 2004

This paper looks at dispute resolution (under the headings below) in New Zealand, explaining that it is basically the same as in the UK, but with cultural and other differences. In relation to arbitration, the author looks at the history of the legislation, and considers the 1991 Law Commission report which led to the Arbitration Act 1996. He looks at the structure of that Act and its main provisions, and then considers five particular aspects (setting aside, appeals, errors of fact or law, intervention by the court and the confidentiality provisions). He goes on to look at adjudication under the NZ Construction Contracts Act 2002, outlining the main provisions and explaining the similarities and differences between the NZ and UK legislation. He discusses the Weathertight Homes esolution Services Act 2002, outlining the legislative provisions and providing some statistics and comments. He concludes with consideration of the use of mediation in NZ and the dispute resolution professions.

Introduction - Arbitration - Adjudication under the Construction Contracts Act 2002 - The Weathertight Homes esolution Services Act 2002 - Mediation - The dispute resolution profession - Conclusions.

The author: Tomas Kennedy-Grant MA(Oxon), Gray's Inn, FCIArb, FICA, FSIArb, FAMINZ is a chartered arbitrator based in Auckland New Zealand.

Text: 30 pages

PDF file size: 123k

Author
Tomas Kennedy-Grant
Publication year
2005