REVIEW ON CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE ADJUDICATION PROCESS IN THE SINGAPORE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY SECURITY OF PAYMENT ACT

Abstract

This dissertation aims to review the Singapore Security Of Payment Act which has been implemented for over 10 years, since its inception in 2004. In particular, 3 issues have been identified for review in this paper. The first issue involves the potential for ambush by claimants at adjudication application. This is a procedural loophole which may be solved by moving the notice of intention to apply for adjudication further upstream of the adjudication process to prevent such occurrences. The second issue is the restriction of an adjudication response to its corresponding payment response as stipulated in the Singapore SOP Act. This issue may be resolved by lifting this restriction on adjudication response to allow for respondents to have a better defense during adjudication. The third issue is with regards to jurisdictional challenges to the validity of appointment of adjudicators and the validity of adjudication determinations. This last issue may be tackled by first clearing any ambiguity on which requirements are non-essential, and next, by allowing for the adjudication determination review panel to decide upon certain jurisdictional challenges. It is hoped that these solutions will be able to better facilitate the operation of the Singapore SOP Act to allow it to serve its purpose of expediting cash flow in the construction industry.