DEVELOPING PRELIMINARY FRAMEWORKS FOR CHALLENGING ADJUDICATION DECISIONS: A CASE STUDY OF CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY PAYMENT AND ADJUDICATION ACT 2012

The Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act 2012 (CIPAA 2012) helps provide a speedy remedy to the cash flow of a project due to payment disputes during the construction phase by providing an interim binding decision through adjudication. However, the challenge for adjudication decisions in court have been continuously reported in the CIDB Construction Law Report (CCLR), thus could potentially defeat the whole speedy and cheaper concept promoted by CIPAA 2012. This paper aims to explore the extent to which the adjudicator’s decision can be challenged under section 15 of CIPAA 2012. It presents the trends on challenges raised under section 15 of CIPAA 2012, and the frameworks for challenging adjudication decisions. Case study approach on CIPAA 2012 has been drawn upon the analysis of court cases reported in the CCLR spanning from 2015 to 2020. The frameworks encompassing 4 main issues under section 15(b), 4 main issues under section 15(d), and 1 main issue under each of sections 15(a) and 15(c). The findings offer the parties in adjudication, a necessary understanding of the pertinent issues and to re-evaluate their claims before coming to court in the event if they wish to challenge the adjudication decision.