ICE-SA Panel of Adjudicators
The ICE-SA Panel of NEC Adjudicators has been established to facilitate the timeous appointment of adjudicators by incorporating specific data in the Contract Data in a procurement document. (Preparing Contract Data.)
The chairman of the ICE-SA Division may be called upon to nominate an Adjudicator where an Adjudicator resigns or becomes unable to act and the Parties cannot agree on a replacement. (Nomination of an Adjudicator.) The Chairman of the ICE-SA Division will perform this nomination on behalf of the following organisations, which fall under the Division’s custodianship:
- ICE-SA Division
- Joint Civils Division (the same organisation – a previous name for the ICE-SA Division)
- South African NEC User Group
Any person registered with a local or international built environment council and who has suitable experience and expertise may apply to the ICE-SA Secretary to be admitted to the panel by emailing secretary@ice-sa.org.za or posting (PO Box 119, Parklands, 2121) a completed Application for Admission, CV and paying an application fee.
Persons who are admitted to the panel will remain on the panel until 1 July. They need to apply to the ICE-SA Secretary to remain on the list until 1 July of the following year by completing an Annual Return and paying an annual fee.
Adjudicators who, in the opinion of the ICE-SA, compromise themselves through conflicts of interest or who perform adjudications in a sub-standard manner or not in accordance with the Adjudicators Contract will not be readmitted to the list.
What is Adjudication?
Adjudication may be defined as an accelerated and cost effective form of dispute resolution that, unlike other means of resolving disputes involving a third party intermediary, the outcome is a decision by a third party which is binding on the parties in dispute and is final unless and until reviewed by either arbitration of litigation.
Adjudication is not arbitration or litigation. Arbitration is a method of resolving disputes between two or more parties by reference to one or more persons appointed for that purpose, typically in accordance with procedures laid down in the Arbitration Act 42 of 1965. Litigation is the system by which the advocates representing each side adduce arguments in a Court of law to persuade the tribunal (judge, jury or assessors) that they have the better legal case.
All the standard forms of contract supported by the Construction Industry Development Board contain adjudication procedures – see CIDB Best Practice Guideline #C3 Adjudication
NEC3 Adjudication Procedure
Each NEC form of contract requires that the party notifying a dispute refers it to an Adjudicator for a decision. The decision is binding on the parties unless and until it may be changed by subsequent reference to the tribunal (arbitration or litigation as selected by the Parties in the Contract Data) and is final and binding if a party does not notify the other party of his intention to refer the matter to the tribunal within 4 weeks of the Adjudicator’s decision. Such reference to the tribunal is not permitted if the matter has not first been referred to the Adjudicator.
The adjudication procedure in the NEC3 family of contracts is included either in Section 9 of the Core Clauses or under Option W1 (Dispute Resolution). (Option W2 is only applicable in the UK). The Adjudicator has jurisdiction from the NEC3 Adjudicator’s Contract entered between him and both of the parties and has duties arising from a combination of that contract and the contract between the parties from which the dispute referred to him has arisen.
Resolution of a dispute by adjudication is mandatory in all NEC3 contracts. There are strict time bars for the notification of a dispute and implementation of the adjudication process which, if not observed, would not only deny the Parties their rights to adjudication, but also to any possible further reference to either arbitration or litigation. The Adjudicator’s fees, based on an agreed hourly rate, and expenses are shared equally between the parties irrespective of the outcome.