Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
This is not as unusual a question as may seem at first sight. Most employers have no idea
about adjudication. When they receive a notice of intention to seek adjudication from a con-
tractor,theyimmediately sendittothearchitectwhohasbeenhandlingtheprojectforthem.
Nodoubt,ifthereisaprojectmanager,theemployerwilldirectthenoticethereinstead.But,
whether project manager or architect, is there a duty to deal with the adjudication? Clearly
the answer is 'No'.
Sofarasthearchitectisconcerned,hisorherdutieswillprobablyincludetakingthebrief,
preparingdesigns,submittingforplanningandbuildingcontrol,preparingdetailedconstruc-
tiondrawingsandadministeringthecontractwithallthatthatentails,includingdealingwith
contractor's claims (usually at an additional fee). It is understood that the architect is skilled
andexperiencedatdoingallthesethings.Butthearchitecthasneithertheskillsnorthetrain-
ing to run an adjudication. The architect is no more capable of doing that than running an
arbitration or dealing with court procedures. None of these things will be among the duties
the architect has agreed to carry out. Importantly, the architect will have no professional in-
demnity insurance to cover such work.
Some architects may have special expertise in dealing with adjudications, just as some
architects have expertise at acting as expert witnesses or designing particular types of build-
ings. In that case, there is no reason why such architects should not run the adjudication on
behalf of the employer (again, for an additional fee). They should always remember that the
adjudication is between the contractor and the employer, not between the contractor and the
architect,eventhoughthecontractormaybeinvokingadjudicationtoquestionanarchitect's
decision.
Although architects have no duty to run the adjudication for the employer, they clearly
do have a duty to give the employer basic initial advice when the notice is brought to their
attention. Architects should be capable of doing that, and it will usually consist of advising
their clients to seek appropriate legal advice without delay in view of the alarmingly short
timescale involved.
Architects, together with all the other consultants, certainly have duties to assist the em-
ployer's legal advisers by providing copy correspondence, drawings, and, if appropriate,
explanations about various aspects of the project. An appropriate fee will be chargeable,
probably on a time basis. However, where the information required by the employer's legal
advisers is more than merely factual (such as correspondence and drawings), consultants
should tread warily. If the adjudicator's decision goes against the employer, the employer's
legal advisers may start to look very carefully at the opinions and reports provided by con-
sultants to see if the employer has a means of redress in that direction. It is not going too
