The Construction Contracts Act 2013
("CCA") introduced the right for a party
to a construction contract to refer payment disputes arising under
the contract for adjudication at any time. The CCA provides an
expedited procedure in which an adjudicator must be appointed,
submissions made and a decision issued, a key objective of the CCA
being to maintain cash flow, "the life blood of the building
industry". However, it is now clear that adjudication can be
subject to challenge by way of judicial review – so what does
this mean?
The CCA applies to contracts entered into
after 25 July 2016.
Annual reports issued by the Chairperson of the Ministerial
Panel of Adjudicators indicate a steady increase in the use of
adjudication, and it is to be expected that issues requiring
clarification will arise as the process beds down. A Court can
refuse to enforce an adjudicator's decision under the procedure
for enforcement of the decision if the process has failed to meet
the
