Sometimes, just sometimes, the party that begins an adjudication insists that the scope or issues are limited to this or that or the other. That’s what happened when employer Global Smith Estates Ltd began an adjudication against Sudlows Ltd, its design and construct contractor for the new data centre fit-out in the old Financial Times building in London’s East India Dock Road. Sometimes, just sometimes, the responding party in an adjudication brings into the response this, that or the other issues, points or arguments that the referring party then says are not allowed. That’s what happened in this adjudication.

Sometimes, just sometimes, the adjudicator, at breakneck speed, has to decide whether to block, or knock out or let in this, that or the other issues, points or arguments, saying he or she does or does not have jurisdiction. That’s what happened here, and because the adjudicator’s eventual award on the substantive dispute included and excluded this, that or the other, the High Court struck down his award for very nearly £7m otherwise payable by Sudlows to Global. The case includes superb guidance on what has become part and parcel of adjudication. Some call it scope; some call it jurisdiction.

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