Adjudication in construction disputes: initial questions

Construction adjudication is a process for obtaining a decision on a dispute within a compressed timetable. RICS explains its use in construction and the role of an adjudicator. Whether a statutory or contractual right applies must be checked for the particular contract. ^[1]

Establish the jurisdiction and dispute Identify the parties, contract, construction operations and issue to be referred. Domestic occupier arrangements and excluded operations need specific consideration. The existence and scope of the dispute cannot be assumed merely because an invoice is unpaid.

Gather the payment application, notices, valuation material and relevant correspondence. Dates can be decisive, so preserve original records of submission and receipt rather than relying on a reconstructed spreadsheet alone.

Prepare for a fast response cycle Discuss appointment requirements, the referral timetable and responsibility for answering submissions. Obtain advice promptly if a notice arrives; the procedure may move faster than ordinary litigation.

Organise technical evidence around the actual referred issue. Check the contract's dispute provisions without assuming that negotiation wording removes an available adjudication right. Advice on the decision's effect and enforcement should form part of the strategy from the outset.

Establish the contract and available adjudication right Identify the contracting parties, the relevant work and the documents forming the agreement. Provide variations and incorporated terms where they may affect the dispute mechanism. Ask the adviser whether a statutory or contractual adjudication right applies and what provisions govern it. The answer should not be inferred merely from the fact that the work took place on a building site. Excluded operations, domestic occupier arrangements and jurisdictional differences can require specific assessment before a notice or response is prepared.

Describe the disagreement that has actually emerged between the parties. Separate an unpaid amount from the wider history of poor relations and identify the point the proposed adjudicator is being asked to decide. A payment-notice issue may differ from the underlying valuation of work or a defects claim. Give the adviser the relevant exchanges showing each side's position. The scope of the dispute and the relief sought need to be understood before the evidence is assembled around a broad assumption that everything on the project can be decided together.

Preserve the dates and documents that drive the issue For a payment dispute, collect the application, certificates or notices relied upon, the contract's payment provisions and records of delivery or receipt. Identify the version of each document and how it was transmitted. A spreadsheet prepared after the event can help explain chronology, but it should point to the underlying records. Check the dates against those records instead of relying on recollection. A small factual difference about what was sent and when may materially affect the legal analysis.

For a valuation or defects issue, organise drawings, instructions, photographs and technical material around the referred question. Separate agreed work from disputed quantities or alleged deficiencies. Identify who can explain site records and whether any inspection or specialist input is needed urgently. Avoid submitting an unexplained project archive and expecting the adjudicator to identify the decisive evidence unaided. The material should allow the relevant proposition to be understood and tested within the procedure's limited time, with uncertainties and missing records made visible.

Organise a response team before time is lost If a notice arrives, preserve it and obtain advice promptly on the appointment process and actual timetable. RICS describes construction adjudication as a rapid decision process; the precise deadlines and their starting points need checking against the applicable framework and directions. Do not rely on a general website headline for the calculation. Identify who can authorise instructions, locate records and respond to technical questions. A short internal delay can consume a significant part of the available preparation period. [1]

Give each person a defined evidential task. The commercial manager may explain the valuation, the project team may locate site instructions and the accounts team may confirm receipts. Coordinate through one current issue list so participants do not produce conflicting summaries. Keep legal advice appropriately separate from material intended for submission. Check whether additional information is responsive to the referred dispute and procedural directions. More pages are not necessarily more helpful when they obscure the specific answer required or arrive without a clear explanation of relevance.

Consider jurisdiction, decision effect and enforcement early Raise any genuine concern about jurisdiction or procedural fairness with the adviser as soon as it is identified. Explain the facts and preserve relevant communications; do not assume that refusing to participate is the correct response. The legal implications of an objection and the way it is maintained require tailored advice. Equally, avoid treating a procedural concern as a reason to neglect the substantive response. The business needs an informed strategy for both the objection and the evidence within the applicable timetable.

When a decision is issued, obtain prompt advice on what it requires, when compliance is due and the available next steps. Do not assume an intention to dispute the result later suspends its present effect. Enforcement and any final determination through the appropriate forum require separate analysis. Record the decision, associated communications and the actions authorised in response. An effective adjudication strategy includes the practical consequences of the outcome, rather than ending with delivery of submissions and leaving payment or further proceedings to be considered only after another deadline has passed.