Adjudicator

Eur Ing David M Wilson

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Independent Adjudicator

Eur Ing David M Wilson BSc CEng CArb FIMechE FCIArb

I welcome enquiries from parties or their representatives about appointment as Adjudicator.

Parties to certain contracts for work undertaken in the UK now find mandatory stipulations about dispute resolution and payment provisions are included by the 'Construction Act' in their contracts -

whether they know it or not, whether they want it or not !!

My appointments as Adjudicator to date concern a number of contracts in :

·	Wastewater Treatment (mechanical/process)

·	Wastewater Treatment (electrical/control)

·	Power Generation (civil & mechanical demolition)

·	Power Generation (process subcontract)

·	Combined Heat & Power Plants

·	Waste Incineration & Power Generation

·	Waste Recovery & Recycling

·	Furnace Controls & Cabling

·	Water Treatment Plant installation

·	Process Plants

·	Engineering & Building Services

Information about adjudication under the UK Housing Grants, Construction & Regeneration Act

The Act imposes contractual terms on the parties to applicable contracts. Its scope is much broader than many organisations initially appreciated and the contractual positions of the parties can be significantly affected by the provisions of the Act.

The concept of adjudication is that either party can choose to submit a dispute to the decision of an adjudicator who is obliged to give a decision within as short a period as 28 days. The adjudicator's decision is ' temporarily binding ' and must be carried out. Subsequent litigation (or arbitration) could overturn that decision - but meanwhile the adjudicator's decision must be implemented.

The payment provisions require there to be stage payments for other than very short-term contracts and 'pay when paid' clauses are rendered completely ineffective - save for one special circumstance. Any intention of withholding payment due must be preceded by proper notification - else the withholding of payment contravenes the Act.
Finally, it should be noted :

The parties CANNOT contract out of the provisions of the Act.

More than 500 court judgments have been made since February 1999.
All have advanced the subject of adjudication under the 'Construction Act'.

For texts of judgments try this website : Adjudication.co.uk

Some common questions	The answers
So where is the complication ?	There is no complication.
Does adjudication only apply to contracts for building and construction work ?	No - adjudication has a wide application and includes some mechanical, electrical and process contracts. But you need to check the Act or take advice on its scope.
So do we need to get our lawyers involved in setting it up ?	You can of course use lawyers to arrange for this. Equally the parties can either choose an Adjudicator themselves or apply to an Adjudicator Nominating Body to appoint one.
Is it complicated to participate in an adjudication ?	It doesn’t need to be but there is a very great advantage to be gained by having experience; either in-house or external. The difficulty is that the procedure has been moulded by a number of court judgments and the inexperienced would not readily know how to utilise the facility.
So what is special about adjudication ?	It provides a really fast-track way of getting a dispute settled so that, for example, the parties can proceed with the contract without further rancour.
So does adjudication finally settle the dispute ?	The parties can decide to abide by the Adjudicator's decision and agree that the dispute stays settled - but if one party is not satisfied with the decision he can take his dispute to litigation or arbitration for final settlement. However meanwhile the Adjudicator's decision must be implemented.

My summary CV is available here: