Balfour Kilpatrick Limited v Glauser International SA
Thursday, 27 July 2000
Key terms: Jurisdiction - Part 24 - dispute - matters in dispute - complexity - fairness
On an application under Part 24 of the CPR to enforce the decision of an adjudicator, the defendant to the adjudication argued that the notice to refer was defective in that it sought to refer more than one dispute in a single reference. The contract between the parties incorporated the TeCSA Rules (Version 1.3), which, at rule 3, adopts the singular word "dispute". They also argued that the number and complexity of the disputes made it unsuitable for adjudication, and given the short time scale the process was unfair and in breach of the rules of natural justice.
Judge Gilliland held that a "dispute" under the TeCSA Rules was not confined to a single dispute, as Rule 11 stated that the dispute related to the "matters identified in the notice", and therefore anticipated a range of matters within a single adjudication reference. He went onto hold that neither the number nor complexity of the matters made them unsuitable for adjudication, nor was there a breach of natural justice.
Judge Gilliland held that a "dispute" under the TeCSA Rules was not confined to a single dispute, as Rule 11 stated that the dispute related to the "matters identified in the notice", and therefore anticipated a range of matters within a single adjudication reference. He went onto hold that neither the number nor complexity of the matters made them unsuitable for adjudication, nor was there a breach of natural justice.