SKYMIST HOLDINGS LTD v GRANDLANE DEVELOPMENTS LTD

[2018] EWHC 3504 (TCC), Technology and Construction Court, Waksman J, 19 December 2018

Appointment of adjudicator by nominating body – Whether nomination a nullity – Approbation and reprobation

The claimant brought a Part 8 challenge to the decision of an adjudicator on the ground that the adjudicator had no jurisdiction to reach the decision which he had reached because he had been appointed by the wrong nominating body. Clause 14.2(b) of the Draft Deed of Appointment ("DOA") between the parties provided that the nominating body for the purposes of any adjudication between the parties was the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators ("CIArb"). The claimant terminated the contract with the defendant and the defendant referred the resultant dispute between the parties to adjudication. It requested the CIArb to appoint an adjudicator but the claimant objected to the appointment on a number of grounds, including the fact that the contract between the parties was not to be found in the DOA so that the CIArb had no jurisdiction to appoint an adjudicator.