Brought about under Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, adjudication, most commonly used in resolving construction disputes is a right within construction contracts enabling a party to refer a dispute under the contract to adjudication.
Adjudication may not necessarily achieve a settlement for the parties and either party still has a right to have the same dispute heard in court. However, adjudication generally results in a settlement and on this basis, it is a much cheaper means of dispute resolution than arbitration or litigation. It is also a very quick way of dealing with a dispute since there are clear timescales involved from the point at which a dispute is referred to when a decision is made by the adjudicator.