Articles

The Society has held two important meetings since our last newsletter was compiled; in November 2013 the twelfth annual conference was held in conjunction with the Association of Independent Construction Adjudicators and in January 2014 the second conference of the Adjudication Society for the Ir

I recently became aware of a complaint about an adjudicator who had not conducted a site inspection in a case that involved allegations of defective workmanship.

Ladies and gentlemen of the Adjudication Society, some of us are pleased that we have avoided the cold, frost and snow of our usual winters.

This is my fifth article on the basics of adjudication.

For the adjudicators reading this article, I appreciate life is challenging.

In 1996 Parliament passed the Construction Act. This included a requirement that all construction contracts contained provisions allowing either party to call for adjudication of any dispute arising between the parties. Any construction contract thus had to include appropriate clauses or, if it did not, then the Scheme for Construction Contracts would apply – thus imposing conditions.

The resolution of disputes in both the domestic and international arenas has, over the years, relied heavily upon non-court processes, increasingly in recent times. The costs incurred by the parties involved in dispute resolution can be considerable, with relationships between them also being put at risk. The focus has, however, increasingly switched in more recent years from binding resolution by tribunal decision imposed upon parties, to a more co-operative and non-confrontational approach.

As of 29 July 2013 the President of Ireland signed the Construction Contracts Act 2013 (“The Act”), enacting the long awaited legislation seeking to improve cash flow for sub-contractors within the construction industry and finally bringing a statutory right of adjudication to Ireland.