KUALA LUMPUR: The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) is finalising the proposal paper for a Construction Court and will submit it to the government by year-end.
CIDB chief executive Datuk Seri Dr Ir Judin Abd Karim said the Court will complement the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act (CIPAA) gazetted in June 2012, noting that justice in the construction sector is best served by the trinity of construction arbitration, statutory adjudication and the specialist construction court.
“The CIPAA was passed so projects will not be delayed due to disputes about payment. We have arbitration, the CIPAA, (so) CIDB is now proposing a construction court because construction is quite complicated as it involves some technical issues.
“It is good to have a court that is familiar with the subject matter so that it can resolve issues quickly and construction projects do not suffer,” Judin told reporters after a luncheon talk organised by the board yesterday.
“The industry conceived the idea of setting up the construction court. They felt that it is timely to have a court that applies in this area. I think if we had one here it could provide services to the region too,” said Judin, adding having the court would make the construction industry more dynamic.
The talk, titled “Specialist Construction Court for Malaysia? Lessons from the UK”, was presented by UK High Court Judge Justice Sir Robert Akenhead, who is in charge of the Technology and Construction Court (TCC).
Should the proposed Construction Court materialise, Malaysia will be the second country in the world after the United Kingdom to have a specialist court dedicated to the construction industry.
Asked on the number of construction cases, Bar Council representative Lim Chong Fong said a survey by the Bar Council in 2008 showed at least a thousand cases filed in the construction industry between 2004 and 2007.
Lim said a number of judges with adequate knowledge in the industry could be part of the Construction Court, adding the appointment of judges for the Construction Court would fall under the jurisdiction of the Judicial Appointment Commission. — Bernama