When the adjudicator's fee account came in for Babcock Marine (Clyde) Ltd vs HS Barrier (Coatings) Ltd, it included 28 hours of QS assistance. Foul, shouted one of the parties at the adjudicator; the decision in the award is tainted, unenforceable, because you didn't tell us of any helper, nor what they were doing. This, said the party, is a breach of natural justice. Their pointy stick jabbed at the NEC adjudicator contract document, in particular at clause 2.3 therein. This clause wails at the adjudicator that they can seek whatever help they consider necessary from others but must pipe up and say so - and then, once this little helper helps, the adjudicator must provide the parties with a copy of any information or advice from others and write their comments on it. Well, that's all a bit of a nuisance, say some of us adjudicators; so instead of seeking out a little helper we do everything by ourselves. Whether that costs more on the fee account is a moot point, but it's better than diving into a rigmarole of obtaining help then doling out the results and inviting submissions from all parties. That costs oodles and uses oodles of days.
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