A new low-cost model for adjudication is to be rolled out next month clearing the way for smaller firms to resolve low-value disputes.

Presently adjudication can cost upwards of £35,000 making it unaffordable to challenge claims of this order.

The new model adjudication being launched by professional body, the Construction Industry Council, hopes to cut the cost burden.

Under the new protocol, newly-qualified adjudicators will be able to gain experience deciding low-value disputes helping to keep costs down.

CIC has drawn up a streamlined adjudication procedure designed for claims of £50,000 or less and relatively uncomplicated disputes.

The fresh approach will link an adjudicator’s fee to the amount claimed, providing certainty as to how much the adjudicator will be paid.

This new model is being supported by 10 adjudicator nominating bodies (ANBs) who maintain panels of qualified adjudicators and will apply the procedure fee and expenses scale as set out in the document.

10 participating ANBs

• Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR)
• Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)
• Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)
• Construction Industry Council (CIC)
• Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
• Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET)
• Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
• Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
• UKANB Limited (UK Adjudicators)