ADJUDICATION AND TIME LIMITS

Ritchie Brothers (PWC) Ltd v David Philp (Commercials) Ltd, 2005 SCIH 32, 24 March 2005

The Inner House of the Court of Session in Ritchie Brothers (PWC) Ltd v David Philp (Commercials) Ltd , 2005 SCIH 32, 24 March 2005, has, by a majority, allowed an appeal from the decision of Lord Eassie (on which see our May 2004 issue, pp. 6–9) and held, by a majority, that the provisions in paragraph 19 of the Scheme for Construction Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 1998 (SI No 687) relating to the times at which an adjudicator must reach his decision are mandatory and not directory. In reaching this conclusion the court emphasised the importance of certainty in relation to time limits. It was held that the decision of the adjudicator could not be enforced given that it had been reached outside of the applicable time limits.