King’s College London releases analysis on two initiatives promoting diversity in construction adjudication

A landmark report from King’s on UK construction adjudication led by Professor Renato Nazzini, found that less than 8% of individuals on adjudicator panels of eight British Adjudicator Nominating Bodies are women. Following the report’s recommendations, two initiatives have been established to tackle the issue.

Construction in front of St Paul’s Cathedral
In November 2022, the Centre of Construction Law & Dispute Resolution (CCLDR), published the report 2022 Construction Adjudication in the United Kingdom: Tracing trends and guiding reform co-authored by Professor Renato Nazzini and Aleksander Kalisz, in collaboration with The Adjudication Society.

Although the report commended the effectiveness and efficiency of UK construction adjudication, it expressed concern over the lack of diversity among adjudicators.

Notably, few British Adjudicator Nominating Bodies publish the composition of their adjudicator panels online. Among the eight that do, women accounted for only 7.88% of listed adjudicators. There is no data on the representation of other protected characteristics.

The report put forward two recommendations to address the issue:

The adoption of a voluntary ‘Adjudication Pledge’, through which organisations and adjudication practitioners will undertake to promote diversity among construction adjudicators in the UK.
The establishment of a ‘Taskforce on diversity in construction adjudication’ to lead various efforts aimed at improving diversity in construction adjudication.
We are very proud that the work King’s did on adjudication has led, within the space of only three months, to the implementation of two of our recommendations that will make a real impact on diversity in the construction professions. We look forward to continuing our close cooperation with The Adjudication Society and the construction industry to make a real difference to the practice of the law in this field.
– Professor Renato Nazzini, Director of the Centre of Construction Law and Dispute Resolution
Both initiatives have been implemented under the auspices of The Adjudication Society, launched at a conference at King’s College London on 28 February 2023, chaired by Professor Renato Nazzini, the Director of the CCLDR.

The conference was opened by a keynote address from The Rt. Hon. Lady Justice Carr DBE of the Court of Appeal, followed by two panels of leading construction dispute resolution practitioners.