clyde & co – Will Dispute Boards replace Adjudicators in the UK?

The JCT standard forms of construction contract are the most common family of standard forms used in the UK construction industry. Since the introduction of statutory adjudication under The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (as amended) (the “Act”), the JCT forms have provided for parties to refer disputes to adjudication, before turning to arbitration or litigation. What the JCT forms haven’t done, until now, is provide for the use of dispute boards. This changed in May this year, when JCT published its Dispute Adjudication Board Documentation 2021 (“JCT DAB”).