ADJUDICATION

Adjudication is a dispute resolution process which can be statutory or contractual. In the UK, adjudication was initially provided for in the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and came into effect in England and Wales in 1998, with equivalent legislation commencing in Northern Ireland in 1999 and in Scotland in 2011. In Ireland adjudication is provided for in the Construction Contract Act 2013 which came into force on 25th July 2016 in respect of qualifying construction contracts entered into after 25th July 2016. Conor Kelly is included in the Minister's panel of Adjudicators established under section 8 of the Construction Contract Act 2013. Conor is available for appointments as Adjudicator by agreement between the Parties.

Adjudication is a dispute resolution process where a third party neutral, an adjudicator, decides the matters in dispute in a short predetermined time limit by producing a document called a decision. Under the relevant Irish legislation, the Construction Contracts Act 2013, this short period is 28 calendar days from the date of the appointment of an adjudicator, this period can be extended, to 42 calendar days, with the consent of the referring party and can be extended longer with the consent of all parties. Contractual adjudication usually adopts similar time limits.

Strictly speaking adjudication applies, under the Construction Contracts Act 2013, to payment disputes only, but as time disputes and or a quality disputes affect payment, adjudication can be applied to many disputes, so if the notice to refer the dispute is correctly worded a quantity dispute or a quantum dispute or an extension of time dispute can become a payment dispute.

Aside from the very short time frame, the other feature which distinguishes adjudication from other dispute resolution processes (especially arbitration) is that while an adjudication decision is binding on the parties at the time, it is not final (unless the contract provides it is). So while one party will have to pay money to the other party as a result of an adjudication decision, the subject matter of the adjudication (or of a series of adjudications in the same contract) can be referred to final resolution by a later process, which is usually arbitration.

 In Ireland conciliation as provided for in Clause 13 of the suite of public construction works contracts under the Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF) is very similar to adjudication because of the binding but non final nature of the conciliation recommendation emerging from a CWMF dispute, unless the recommendation is accepted by the parties.