ADJUDICATOR’s MISTAKE DID NOT RELATE TO THE SCOPE OF HIS JURISDICTION

Bouygues (UK) Ltd v Dahl-Jensen (UK) Ltd [2000] BLR 49

In Bouygues (UK) Ltd v Dahl-Jensen (UK) Ltd [2000] BLR 49 Mr Justice Dyson affirmed the importance of the distinction between an adjudicator who purports to decide an issue which was not referred to him and an adjudicator who makes a mistake when deciding an issue that was referred to him. In the former case the court can intervene because the decision of the adjudicator has no effect in law, whereas it will not interfere in the latter case. In deciding whether an adjudicator has mistakenly purported to decide a matter which was not referred to him or made a mistake in deciding a matter which was referred to him the court should give a fair, natural and sensible interpretation to the decision of the adjudicator in the light of the disputes that were the subject of the reference and a court should guard against characterising a mistaken answer to an issue that lies within the scope of the reference as an excess of jurisdiction.