Combating non-payment through Security of Payment Legislation

Are some disputes more important than others? Perhaps this is amatter of opinion depending on your position, capacity, and thequantum at stake. Nonetheless, it is generally accepted that cashflow is the lifeblood of construction contracting. Security of paymentlegislations have been enacted in many jurisdictions, with theprimary aim of ensuring that payments due to the contractor andsubcontractors are duly honored. This intention has been warmlyreceived by the industry. Adjudication provides the platform formore timely decisions whereby the aforementioned legislative intentcan be effected. It is therefore common to have mandatory adjudicationlinked with security of payment legislations. This specialissue includes six articles that discuss the benefits and unintendedside effects of Security of Payment legislations in the United Kingdom,New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore. The United Kingdom(U.K.) is possibly the first Common Law jurisdiction that has introducedlegislative measures to deal with mandatory adjudicationand payment issues under construction contracts through the enactmentof the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act1996 (HGCRA).