Construction Act review: Effectiveness of existing adjudication review mechanisms: views of industry experts

Some jurisdictions allow for an express limited right of aggrieved parties to apply for adjudication review as a way to remedy injustice caused by the speedy adjudication process. The aim of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of the existing review mechanisms and identify whether the notion of review mechanisms is a good idea. The paper adopts a combination of doctrinal legal research (black-letter law) and socio-legal research (empirical research). The empirical research involves interviews with 23 industry experts practicing in different jurisdictions in the area of statutory adjudication. The paper analyses the views of experts regarding the operation of review mechanisms in their jurisdictions and investigates the factors influencing their effectiveness. The paper concludes that if an effective review mechanism is devised to counter the barriers of cost and time, the arguments in support of the need of review mechanism would outweigh opposing arguments.