ICE-SA is the Adjudicator Nominating Body named in many NEC Contracts in Southern Africa. The ICE-SA Panel of NEC Adjudicators has been established to facilitate the timeous appointment of adjudicators.
The standard payment option provided in the NEC3 Adjudicators Contract is for the Parties referring the matter to dispute to pay the Adjudicator an advance payment that is stated in the Contract Data and to share any amount due in equal proportions.
There are two options for appointing an adjudicator:
1 - Select your own Adjudicator from our list and contact the Adjudicator directly.
a) An Adjudicator should ideally be appointed at the same time as the contract between the Parties is awarded.
If this is not done:
b) The Parties can subsequently agree on the adjudicator to be appointed.
Any person wishing to locate an experienced and qualified Adjudicator for a dispute under an NEC contract may search through the ICE-SA Panel of NEC Adjudicators, evaluate the person’s CV, and then contact the individual chosen.
This service is provided to the industry free of charge in South Africa. There is no Adjudicator Nomination Levy due for such appointments.
A tri-partite Adjudicator’s contract must then be entered into between the parties to the contract and the Adjudicator.
2 - Request for Chairman to Nominate an Adjudicator
a) Should the parties to a contract not agree on the person as Adjudicator, the NEC contract makes provision for the Adjudicator Nominating Body to select a person to determine the dispute on behalf of the parties.
b) The Chairman of ICE-SA may also be called upon to nominate an Adjudicator where an Adjudicator resigns or becomes unable to act, and the Parties cannot agree on a replacement.
From 1 January 2025, an Adjudicator Nomination Fee of R8 000.00* is levied for ICE-SA to act as the adjudicator nominating body. *(VAT Not applicable)
A tri-partite Adjudicators’ contract must then entered into between the Parties to the contract and the Adjudicator.
The parties to the dispute are required to appoint an Adjudicator in terms of the NEC3 Adjudicator’s Contract.
Search through the ICE-SA Panel of NEC Adjudicators, evaluate the person’s CV, and then contact the individual chosen.
This service is provided to the industry free of charge in South Africa.
A tri-partite Adjudicator’s contract must then be entered into between the parties to the contract and the Adjudicator.
An Adjudicator should ideally be appointed at the same time as the contract between the Parties is awarded.
Parties to an NEC contract who want to appoint their own adjudicator can use the ICE-SA Panel of NEC Adjudicators in one of two methods:
1 a - Prior to Award of Contract
1 b - After Contract Award
The Employer selects a listed person and inserts his name in the Contract Data provided by the Employer. The Contractor then either accepts the person chosen or may suggest another listed person. The Parties agree on the person chosen prior to award of the contract between them.
Make reference to the ICE-SA Panel of NEC Adjudicators in the Contract Data provided by the Employer and after contract award, the Party intending to refer the first dispute to adjudication selects two listed persons who have confirmed their availability to act as an Adjudicator, the other Party selects one of these two persons to be the Adjudicator and the Parties make the necessary arrangements for his immediate appointment.
The facility for an external Adjudicator Nominating Body to make a selection is still available in the event that any of the two options should fail, e.g., the Adjudicator resigns or becomes unable to act, and the Parties cannot agree on a replacement. (Nomination of an Adjudicator)
It should be noted that clause F.3.17 (Complete adjudicator's contract) of the CIDB Standard Conditions of Tender states that "unless alternative arrangements have been agreed or otherwise provided for in the contract, arrange for both parties to complete formalities for appointing the selected adjudicator at the same time as the main contract is signed. This requires the successful tenderer (Contractor), as a condition of tender, to conclude the contract with the Adjudicator with the Employer, should this be required".
To enable consolidation of related disputes across the whole project it may be appropriate for the main contract to specify that the subcontract terms should name the same adjudicator as also acting in subcontract disputes.
Preparing Contract Data
Preparing Contract Data - Prior to award
The following data should be inserted into the Contract Data provided by the Employer for an ECC3 contract. Other contracts in the NEC3 family will be similar.
Choosing the Adjudicator before contract award: The Employer nominates the Adjudicator in the Contract Data for Option W1 by choosing a person from the ICE-SA Panel of NEC Adjudicators
| Data for option w1 | Guidance notes | |
|---|---|---|
| The Adjudicator is | Insert data | |
| Name | .......... | |
| Address | .......... | |
| Tel No. | .......... | |
| Fax No. | .......... | |
| .......... | ||
| The Adjudicator nominating body is: | The Chairman of ICE-SA – a Joint Division of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (see Chairman to Nominate an Adjudicator ). | |
| The tribunal is: | .......... | Insert either “arbitration” or “a South African Court of Law” |
If the tribunal is arbitration, add the following:
| The arbitration procedure is | As set out in the Rules for the Conduct of Arbitrations Fifth Edition 2005 published by the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) |
As set out in the Rules of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa. Or, in the case of an international contract, As set out in the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. |
| The place where arbitration is to be held is | .......... | Insert town or city where arbitration is to be held |
|
The person or organisation who will choose an arbitrator – if the Parties cannot agree a choice or – if the arbitration procedure does not state who selects an arbitrator, is |
The Chairman of the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) |
Alternatively state: The Chairman of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa |
It should be noted that the various NEC3 contracts state that “The Parties appoint the Adjudicator under the NEC Adjudicators Contract current at the starting date”
Preparing Contract Data - After Contract Award
The following data should be inserted into the Contract Data provided by the Employer for an ECC3 contract.Other contracts in the NEC3 family will be similar.
Choosing an Adjudicator after contract award: The Party intending to refer the first dispute to adjudication selects two persons from the ICE-SA Panel of NEC Adjudicators, confirms their availability. The other Party selects which of the two is to be the Adjudicator
| Data for option w1 | Guidance notes | |
|---|---|---|
| The Adjudicator is | the person selected by the Parties in terms of the relevant Z Clause from the Panel of NEC Adjudicators set up by ICE-SA – a joint Division of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (see ICE-SA Panel of Adjudicators) | Insert Z clause (see below) |
| The Adjudicator nominating body is: | The Chairman of ICE-SA – a joint Division of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (see Chairman to Nominate an Adjudicator) | |
| The tribunal is: | ........... | Insert “arbitration” or a “South African Court of Law” |
If the tribunal is arbitration add:
| The arbitration procedure is | As set out in the Rules for the Conduct of Arbitrations Fifth Edition 2005 published by the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) |
As set out in the Rules of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa. Or, in the case of an international contract, As set out in the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. |
| The place where arbitration is to be held is | .......... | Insert town or city where arbitration is to be held |
|
The person or organisation who will choose an arbitrator – if the Parties cannot agree a choice or – if the arbitration procedure does not state who selects an arbitrator, is |
The Chairman of the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) |
Alternatively state: The Chairman of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa |
The following Z clause should be added where use is made of the ICE-SA Panel of NEC Adjudicators after award i.e. Option 2:
| Z | Additional conditions of contract | |
| The additional conditions of contract are: | ||
| Z1 | Selection and appointment of the Adjudicator | Within 2 weeks after declaring a dispute and if the Adjudicator was not yet appointed with a previous dispute, the notifying Party notifies the other Party of the names of two persons he has chosen from the Panel of NEC Adjudicators set up by ICE-SA, a joint division of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (see www.ice-sa.org.za), whose availability to act as the adjudicator has been confirmed by the notifying Party. The other Party selects one of the two persons chosen to be the adjudicator within four days of receiving the notice, failing which the person chosen by the notifying Party will be the adjudicator for the Contract. The Parties promptly appoint the selected adjudicator under the NEC3 Adjudicator’s Contract, April 2013. The adjudicator becomes the Adjudicator following the last signature of a party to such contract. |
2 a) Should the parties to a contract not agree on the person as Adjudicator, the NEC contract makes provision for the Adjudicator Nominating Body to select a person to determine the dispute on behalf of the parties.
b) The Chairman of ICE-SA may also be called upon to nominate an Adjudicator where an Adjudicator resigns or becomes unable to act, and the Parties cannot agree on a replacement.
The ICE-SA Adjudication Sub-Committee identifies one of the panelists as suitable based on the dispute, the nature of the contract, and the parties involved, and then checks the independence and availability of the identified panelist. Once the nomination is made, the obligation of ICE-SA as the adjudicator nominating body has been fulfilled.
Costs Involved:
From 1 January 2025, an Adjudicator Nomination Fee of R8 000.00* is levied for ICE-SA to act as the adjudicator nominating body. *(VAT Not applicable)
The nominated Adjudicator shall notify ICE-SA when their decision has been made, together with a brief report on the processes that have been followed. The fee due from the Parties to the nominated Adjudicator will be reported on at this time and the Adjudicator will be required to pay a 5% Nomination Levy to ICE-SA.
Should the dispute be resolved prior to any fees being charged by the nominated adjudicator, then ICE-SA must be immediately notified on the Post Adjudication Nomination Report page of the ICE-SA website, and no 5% Nomination Levy will be due.
Should the nominated Adjudicator not contact ICE-SA within 12 weeks of nomination, ICE-SA will follow up with the nominated Adjudicator to determine whether the decision has been made. The Nomination Report and Nomination Levy percentage will be determined at that time and become due for payment.
The proof of payment of the Adjudicator Nomination Fee is to be uploaded as part of the request for a nomination. ICE-SA will not process the request for nomination without the receipt of the Adjudicator Nomination Fee. The Adjudicator Nomination Fee is not refundable.
A tri-partite Adjudicator’s contract must then be entered into between the parties to the contract and the Adjudicator.
Pay Nomination Levy:
ICE Country Representative (South Africa): Prof Marianne Vanderschuren
Email: communication@ice-sa.org.za
Address: SAICE House, Thornhill Office Park, Bekker Road, Vorna Valley, Midrand, 1685, South Africa
