Authorised nominating bodies
28.—(1) The Minister may —(a)
upon the application of any person, authorise the person to appoint adjudicators and undertake such other functions or duties as may be imposed under this Act, subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may think fit; and
(b)
withdraw any such authorisation.
(2) The Minister may limit the number of persons who may, for the time being, be authorised under subsection (1).
(3) An authorised nominating body must provide the Minister with such information or documents as the Minister may request from time to time in relation to the activities of the authorised nominating body or its register of adjudicators established under subsection (4)(a), including but not limited to information as to the fees charged by the authorised nominating body or by the persons on its register of adjudicators for any service provided under or by virtue of this Act.
(4) An authorised nominating body must, in relation to its authorisation under subsection (1) —(a)
establish and maintain a register of adjudicators;
(b)
establish and administer codes of conduct or practice;
(c)
provide training for the persons who are on the register of adjudicators;
(d)
establish a schedule of fees for adjudication services provided under or by virtue of this Act, including an adjudicator’s fees;
(e)
facilitate the conduct of adjudications under this Act, including the establishing of rules therefor not inconsistent with this Act or any other written law, and provide general administrative support therefor;
(f)
abide by any regulations that the Minister may prescribe; and
(g)
undertake such other functions or duties as may be imposed under this Act or as may be directed by the Minister.[47/2018]
Authorised nominating body to maintain trust account
28A.—(1) An authorised nominating body must open and maintain a trust account with a bank for the purpose of holding the adjudicated amount mentioned in section 18(3).[47/2018]
(2) An authorised nominating body must not withdraw any money from a trust account except for the purpose of subsection (3) or making a payment under section 22(3).[47/2018]
(3) All interest earned from the maintenance of adjudicated amounts received in a trust account accrue to the authorised nominating body, which may dispose of the interest in such manner as the authorised nominating body considers fit.[47/2018]
(4) Money held in a trust account is not available for payment of the debts of an authorised nominating body or liable to be paid or taken under or pursuant to an enforcement order or process of a court.[47/2018]
[Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022]
(5) Nothing in subsection (4) takes away or affects any lawful claim that a claimant or a respondent has against money held in a trust account.[47/2018]
(6) In this section —“bank” has the meaning given by the Banking Act 1970;
“trust account” means a current or deposit account maintained in the name of the authorised nominating body at a bank, in the title of which the words “BCISOPA ANB — Adjudicated Amount Client Account” appear.[47/2018]
Eligibility criteria for adjudicators
29.—(1) A person is eligible to be on the register of adjudicators established under section 28(4)(a) if the person is an individual with such qualifications, expertise or experience as may be prescribed.
(2) A person is not eligible to be an adjudicator in relation to a contract —(a)
if the person is a party to the contract, or is otherwise related to a party to the contract in such manner as may be prescribed; or
(b)
if there exists such circumstances as may be prescribed.
(3) A person to whom an adjudication application has been referred by the authorised nominating body under section 14, 14A, 18 or 18A, and who —(a)
is or becomes interested in any way, whether directly or indirectly, in any contract or other matter that relates to the adjudication application; or
(b)
is or becomes aware that the person —(i)
does not meet the eligibility criteria in subsection (1); or
(ii)
is not eligible to be an adjudicator in relation to a contract for any reason mentioned in subsection (2)(a) or (b),
must immediately disclose the nature of his or her interest, the nature of his or her ineligibility or the reason for which he or she is not eligible (as the case may be) to the authorised nominating body.
[47/2018]
Costs of adjudication proceedings
30.—(1) The costs of any adjudication must not exceed such amount as the Minister may prescribe.
(2) An adjudicator must, in making a determination in relation to any adjudication application, decide which party must pay the costs of the adjudication and (where applicable) the amount of contribution by each party.
(3) Where an adjudicator is satisfied that a party to an adjudication incurred costs of the adjudication because of frivolous or vexatious conduct on the part of, or unfounded submissions by, another party, the adjudicator may decide that the other party must pay some or all of those costs.
(4) A party to an adjudication must bear all other costs and expenses incurred as a result of or in relation to the adjudication, but may include the whole or any part thereof in any claim for costs in any proceeding before a court or tribunal or in any other dispute resolution proceeding.
Adjudicator’s fees and expenses
31.—(1) Subject to this section, an adjudicator is entitled to be paid, in relation to an adjudication application —(a)
such fees as may be specified by the authorised nominating body which appointed the adjudicator; and
(b)
such amount, by way of expenses, as may be agreed between the adjudicator and the parties to the adjudication or, if no such amount is agreed, then as the authorised nominating body considers to be reasonable having regard to the work done and expenses incurred by the adjudicator.
(2) An adjudicator is not entitled to be paid, and must not retain, any fee in relation to an adjudication application if the adjudicator fails to make a determination on the application within the time allowed by section 17 or 19 (as the case may be) otherwise than because the application is withdrawn or terminated or the dispute between the claimant and respondent is settled.[47/2018]
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply —(a)
in circumstances in which an adjudicator requires payment of the fees mentioned in subsection (1) before the issue of the adjudicator’s determination on the adjudication application; or
(b)
in such other circumstances as may be prescribed.[47/2018]
(4) Where an adjudication application is withdrawn or terminated or the dispute between the claimant and the respondent is settled, the adjudicator is entitled to be paid the fees and expenses incurred in relation to the adjudication up to, and including, the date on which the adjudication application is withdrawn or terminated or the dispute is settled, as the case may be.
(5) For the purposes of subsection (4) —(a)
in the case of the withdrawal of an adjudication application — the applicant is liable to pay the fees and expenses of the adjudicator; and
(b)
in any other case — the parties to the adjudication are jointly and severally liable to pay the fees and expenses of the adjudicator.
(6) An adjudicator may recover the adjudicator’s fees and expenses from a person liable to pay them as a debt due to the adjudicator.
Protection from liability for adjudicators and authorised nominating bodies
32.—(1) No liability shall lie against an adjudicator with respect to anything done or omitted to be done in good faith in the discharge or purported discharge of the adjudicator’s functions or duties under this Act.[47/2018]
(2) No liability shall lie against an authorised nominating body or any person acting under the direction of the authorised nominating body with respect to anything done or omitted to be done —(a)
in good faith in the discharge or purported discharge of the authorised nominating body’s function of nominating adjudicators under this Act; and
(b)
in good faith and with reasonable care in the discharge or purported discharge of any other functions or duties of the authorised nominating body under this Act.[47/2018]
Confidentiality of adjudication
33.—(1) This section applies to the following information:(a)
any statement or document created or made for the purposes of an adjudication;
(b)
any information (whether written or oral) that, for the purposes of an adjudication, is disclosed in the course of the adjudication.
(2) No party to a dispute or adjudicator may disclose to any other person (not being the principal or the owner concerned) any information to which this section applies, except —(a)
with the consent of the party to whom the information relates;
(b)
to the extent that the information is already in the public domain;
(c)
to the extent that the disclosure is necessary for the purposes of, or in connection with, the adjudication, the enforcement of the adjudicator’s determination, or any proceeding before a court or tribunal or any other dispute resolution proceeding;
(d)
to the extent that the disclosure is required for any purpose under this Act; or
(e)
if the information will not be published in a form that could reasonably be expected to identify any particular person.
Effect on other proceedings
34.—(1) Nothing in this Act affects any right that a party to a contract may have —(a)
to submit a dispute relating to or arising from the contract to a court or tribunal, or to any other dispute resolution proceeding;
(b)
to apply for adjudication under this Act, even though the dispute is the subject of proceedings in a court or tribunal or the subject of any other dispute resolution proceeding; or
(c)
to take any measures to which that party is entitled under Part 5 to enforce payment of any adjudicated amount.
(2) If a party to a contract submits a dispute relating to or arising from the contract to a court or tribunal or to any other dispute resolution proceeding while the dispute is the subject of an adjudication under this Act, the submission to that other dispute resolution proceeding does not bring to an end or otherwise affect the adjudication.
(3) An adjudicator must terminate the adjudication proceedings on a dispute relating to or arising from the contract if, before the adjudicator determines the dispute, the dispute is determined by a court or tribunal or at any other dispute resolution proceeding.
(4) In any proceeding before a court or tribunal in relation to any matter arising under or by virtue of a contract, the court or tribunal —(a)
is to allow for any amount paid to a party to the contract under, or for the purposes of, this Act in any order or award it makes in the proceeding; and
(b)
may make such orders as it considers appropriate, having regard to any action taken by a party to the contract in good faith and in reliance on an adjudication determination made under this Act.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
