Adjudication continues to thrive and, by and large, serve its users well. Our report highlights strengths and weaknesses of the system, with the objective of informing practice and future developments and reforms. I am grateful to The Adjudication Society, the Steering Committee, the adjudicator nominating bodies and all who contributed their valuable time to the report and look forward to a healthy and lively debate on this important method of dispute resolution in the construction industry.
Professor Renato Nazzini, co-author of the report and Director of the Centre of Construction Law & Dispute Resolution
20 November 2024
King's publishes third construction adjudication report focusing on key trends
The report examines the latest adjudication statistics in relation to referral trends, causes of disputes and costs, and highlights issues in relation to the diversity of adjudicators and equal representation.
The report, 2024 Construction Adjudication in the United Kingdom: Tracing trends and guiding reform, published in collaboration with The Adjudication Society, is the third and final report in a project examining construction adjudication from the perspective of its users and stakeholders. It is authored by Professor Renato Nazzini and Aleksander Godhe of the Centre of Construction Law & Dispute Resolution, building upon the findings of the 2023 and 2022 reports.
I take this opportunity to extend my sincere gratitude to the adjudicator nominating bodies and individual respondents for their time and thoughtful responses to our questionnaires. While adjudication has proven to be an effective and popular means of resolving construction disputes across all three reports, there is clear enthusiasm within the field to refine and enhance it further. I hope this project contributes meaningfully to the ongoing evolution of adjudication in the UK and provides helpful insights for other jurisdictions considering or implementing similar regimes.
Aleksander Godhe, co-author of the report and Research Associate at the Centre of Construction Law & Dispute Resolution
The report analyses data drawn from two questionnaires: one addressed to Adjudicator Nominating Bodies (ANBs) and a second addressed to individuals involved with statutory adjudication.
The authors found that:
- The number of adjudication referrals received by ANBs has reached the highest level on record in the past year at 2,264
- Almost 20% of adjudication referrals were adjudicated using the low value or fast-track adjudication procedure (or equivalent)
- The leading causes of disputes were inadequate contract administration and lack of competence of project participants
The report was launched at The Adjudication Society’s Annual Conference in Manchester on 20 November 2024.
In this story
Director of the Centre of Construction Law and Dispute Resolution
Research Associate