On 19 April 2024, the Irish High Court delivered judgment in McGill Construction Ltd v Blue Whisp Ltd [2024] IEHC 205. The key issues before the court were whether the adjudicator had jurisdiction to determine a preliminary issue in respect of their own jurisdiction and what constitutes valid grounds to resist the enforcement of an adjudicator’s decision under the Construction Contracts Act 2013 (the Act).

The court considered that as an exception to the general principle that an adjudicator does not have jurisdiction to make a determination to their own jurisdiction, the parties can, ‘by agreement’, confer…