Construction Claims and ADR Conference 2021 officially the longest virtual non-stop conference

The fully virtual conference set the new record for the “Longest Non-Stop Virtual Construction & ADR Conference” with its 12-hour non-stop conference from 9am to 9pm. The inaugural event saw over 1,300 concurrent viewers joining in via Zoom including legal practitioners, consultants, contractors, developer, employer, government agencies, judiciary, attorney general’s chambers, supporting organisations and academic partners from Malaysia and globally.

Organised by L2-iCON and Legal Plus, the conference saw over 40 speakers and moderators including sitting and retired judges and various highly respected experts and practitioners in the construction and ADR field from Malaysia and overseas including from the US, UK, Singapore, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Australia.

Chief Justice of International Financial Centre Dubai, retired Chief Justice of Malaysia and Chairman of Legal Plus Tun Dato Seri Dr Zaki bin Tun Azmi said the conference was very timely as many construction projects have been impacted by the pandemic and various Movement Control Orders (MCO) by the Malaysian government and overseas.

“Conflicts and disputes are common in the construction industry given the complexity of projects and involvement of various parties and trades within the construction chain. The current pandemic has aggravated its impact on construction projects and industry players have been facing great financial and time constraints as well as disputes between contracting parties in a construction project’s life cycle. Hence, dispute avoidance is the first step to dispute resolution – it is crucial for industry players to be equipped with better management skills, a properly designed mechanism, a better understanding of construction contracts and strengthen their project management skills” he said.

The carefully selected seven topics were very relevant and enlightening for lawyers, consultants, arbitrators, academicians, contractors, industry practitioners, students, media and anyone interested in the subject. These included discussions on who had to bear the cost of delays and late delivery of projects as well as litigation, arbitration, adjudication or mediation options for such issues.

Many of the panellists also shared their views on the Construction Industry Payment & Adjudication Act 2012 (CIPAA) with most agreeing it is a very good law to address disputes from the construction industry and should be reinforced further.

Retired Federal Court Judge of Malaysia and Director of Legal Plus Tan Sri James Foong said the conference also saw the launch of Caring is Sharing 2.0 charity drive in collaboration with the Lighthouse of Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian branch of Lighthouse Club International that promotes fellowship amongst its members and provides financial assistance to needy ones in the construction industry.

“Funds from the initiative will be used to purchase laptops for primary and secondary school students from underprivileged backgrounds.”

“We do not want the future of this children to be jeapordised just because they lacked the tools to aid in their studies,” he said, adding that the charity drive will run until August 31.