SYNOPSIS

In the construction industry, a common problem faced by suppliers and contractors is the delayed payment or non payment of sums falling due under the contract. This may cause cash flow difficulties which often lead to delayed project completion or even job abandonment. To address this problem, CIPAA 2012 has been enacted. It came into force on 15th April 2014. The Act provides for a speedy process for the resolution of payment disputes by an independent “adjudicator” whose decision is binding on the parties, and the process is mandatory once a party invokes his right under the Act. The mandatory nature of the Act makes it of utmost importance that all building and constructional professionals familiarize themselves with its provisions. In fact, even consultancy contracts are caught within its ambit, so consulting engineers should not neglect the CIPAA. There have been differing opinions as to the efficacy of CIPAA in solving the perennial payment problems in the industry and whether it would rather create more problems for the involved parties because of very tight time frames imposed by the Act, insufficient number of trained, available and willing adjudicators to handle a possible avalanche of cases, and the dearth of in house personnel, for very large Employers (eg the JKR), to handle the process.

The Seminar will be carried out in 3 parts:

•    Part 1: What is CIPAA 2012? An Overview
•    Part 2 : Adjudication – The Procedural Steps
•    Part 3 : Contractual and Statutory Adjudication : Understanding the Main Differences


BIODATA OF SPEAKERS

Ir. LAI SZE CHING graduated as a Mechanical Engineer from the University of Malaya.  He also holds LL.B degree from the University of London and LL.M from the University of Malaya, majoring in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Arbitration Law, Remedy and Construction Law. In addition he also holds a Certificate of Legal Practice from the Qualifying Board of Malaysia.

Ir. Lai has more than 30 years working experience in construction and property development.  He is currently the Managing Director of an engineering firm and also as a claim consultant.  Ir. Lai had been invited to deliver papers on water supply and sewage treatment in various international seminars and conferences. He has also written various articles on ADR, Arbitration and Construction Law and had conducted talks on Engineers and the Law and issues of Construction Law to local companies and Universities.

Being an accreditor of Engineering Accreditation Council Malaysia, he is also actively involved in the accreditation of local engineering programmes.  He is currently a member of the Industry Advisory Panel for LimKokWing University of Creative Technology and Multimedia University. Ir Lai is also appointed as the Student Ambassador for the External Law Programme of University of London. He is currently empanelled as Arbitrator, Mediator and Adjudicator in the panel of Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre of Arbitration (KLRCA).

PROFESSOR DATUK SUNDRA RAJOO is the Director of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA). He was the Immediate Past President of the Asia Pacific Regional Arbitration Group (APRAG) [2011-2013], a federation of nearly 40 arbitral institutions in the region. Professor Datuk Sundra is a Chartered Arbitrator and an Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya (non-practising). He is also a Professional Architect and Registered Town Planner. He has had numerous appointments as chairman, co-arbitrator of three-man panels and sole arbitrator in international and domestic arbitrations. He serves on the panel of numerous international arbitral institutions and organisations. He is also a Visiting Professor at The National University of Malaysia (UKM).

Professor Datuk Sundra has authored and co-authored several books on arbitration and contract law, including, “Law, Practice and Procedure of Arbitration” (2003); “The Malaysian Standard Form of Building Contract (The PAM 1998 Form)” (1999); the Arbitration title for Halsbury’s Laws of Malaysia (2002); “Arbitration Act 2005 – UNCITRAL Model Law as Applied in Malaysia” (2007); “The PAM 2006 Form” (2010); “Construction Law in Malaysia” (2012); and “The Malaysia Arbitration Act 2005 (Amended 2011): An Annotation” (2013).