CIC Consultation on Adjudication for Low Value Disputes

Last day for contributions to CIAT's response.

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) is developing a Low Value Disputes Model Adjudication Procedure (LVD MAP) to provide a simple and cost-effective procedure to make adjudication more accessible for SME’s and others involved in lower value claims. The CIC initiative is a response to growing construction industry concerns about the increasing complexity and prohibitive costs of adjudication. The CIC LVD MAP is aimed at disputes where claims are for £50,000 or less, and the issues in dispute are relatively uncomplicated. The CIC LVD MAP is being developed by a Working Group drawn from key industry bodies, including the Adjudication Society, CIC, CEDR, ICE and the RICS.

The CIC wishes to consult with the construction industry and other stakeholders to give everyone the opportunity to make the CIC LVD MAP the best that it can be. The consultation offers interested parties an opportunity to discuss and shape the CIC LVD MAP, and enable CIC to gauge the degree of industry support for this initiative.

The CIC LVD MAP can be downloaded here.

Martin Burns RICS Head of ADR Research and Development and Chair of the CIC LVD MAP Working Group says: “The reality is that many smaller businesses are disillusioned with adjudication because it has developed into a process often inordinately complicated and too expensive for dealing with disputes where the sums claimed are £50,000 or less. The aim of the CIC LVD MAP is to provide SME’s who might not otherwise use adjudication, with a simple, Construction Act compliant, timetable and procedure for low value disputes. The CIC LVD MAP will be relatively low cost to use and parties will know from the outset what the adjudicator’s fees will be.”

Niall Lawless, Chair of the CIC’s ADR Management Board says: “The CIC LVD MAP offers the construction industry the opportunity to reinforce confidence in adjudication as a method for deciding straightforward low value disputes.”

If you wish to contribute to CIAT’s response to this consultation, please forward your comments to Graham Chalkley, Assistant Practice Director, at [email protected] by Friday 28 June 2019.