The twelfth annual conference of the Adjudication Society, held in conjunction with the Association of Independent Construction Adjudicators on the topic of “Procedural Pitfalls”, was held at the Radisson Blu Portman Hotel, London on 22nd November 2013 in front of over 90 delegates.
The Conference was fortunate to be addressed by the Rt. Hon. Lord Dyson, the Master of the Rolls as the Keynote Speaker. Lord Dyson reviewed his career at the Bar and following his elevation to the Bench. He had been one of the first judges to decide on enforcement of Adjudicator’s awards and commented upon some of the developments in the Court’s stance on adjudication since then.
Lord Dyson’s speech was warmly received and was followed by a lively debate on various “hot” topics in adjudication between Steven Walker QC, Paul Darling QC, John Riches and the moderator Tony Bingham. The debate ranged from the meaning of “natural justice” through to Lord Dyson’s decision in Systech –v- P.C. Harrington.
After the mid-morning break, Rory Reynolds, an experienced psychotherapist, addressed the delegates on the psychology of decision making. His theme was that a person’s early years formulated that person’s feelings and prejudices on many subjects which were present, albeit subconsciously, in their decision making processes even in later life.
The Adjudication Society currently sponsors Construction Dispute Resolution who annually published a great deal of data on adjudications and the types of disputes which were referred. The organisation’s Managing Director, Janey Milligan reviewed the data which had been collected for 2012 and discussed the trends which could be seen from her organisation’s researches.
The morning concluded with Adrian Malleson of RIBA Enterprises making a presentation on the National Construction Contracts and Law Survey which particularly concentrated on collaboration in the industry, the appointment of professionals and disputes.
The afternoon comprised of the well-received revolving workshops which addressed the issues of Misconduct of the Adjudicator, More than one dispute referred, What is natural justice, Terms of an Adjudicator’s contract and decision making.
The Conference was concluded by a summing up and review of the day by Neil Kelly which posed some interesting questions which arose out of the day.
The Society and the Association would like to express their thanks to all the contributors to the Conference and to those who helped “back stage” to make the Conference a success.
The 2014 Conference is to be held at the same venue on 21st November 2014.
Martin Potter
Conference Organising Subcommittee Chairman