The territorial extent of construction adjudication

In Van Elle Ltd v Keynvor Morlift Ltd [2023] EWHC 3137 (TCC), the defendant sought to resist enforcement of the decision of an adjudicator on the ground that the adjudicator lacked jurisdiction because the contract between the parties was not one that related to the carrying out of construction operations in "England" as required by section 104(6) of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. Judge Stephen Davies rejected the submission advanced on behalf of the defendant and held that the adjudicator did have jurisdiction because "land" in the 1996 Act included land which was covered by water and the works in question had been conducted on the landward side of the mouth of the River Fowey and so had taken place in England. Accordingly, the decision of the adjudicator was enforceable and a submission that the adjudicator had breached the principles of natural justice was also rejected.