Dispute Boards Members

What are sometimes called Dispute Boards come in various different forms. These include Disputed Avoidance and Adjudication Boards, Dispute Review Boards, Conflict Avoidance Panels. They all bring a combination of conciliation and mediation skills, dispute avoidance skills and, ultimately, recommendations or adjudication decisions to major projects in infrastructure, construction, energy and shipbuilding.

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Dispute Boards are generally associated with major infrastructure projects.  They come in various forms but will generally comprise of three individuals who will be assigned to a project and who will be retained to follow that project through to completion.  As with other forms of ADR or Early Dispute Resolution, there is the recurring theme of these neutrals being chosen by the parties.

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The Dispute Board may consist of, for example, an engineer and architect and lawyer.  As a Standing Dispute Board, they will meet, perhaps quarterly and 'walk the project.'  They will then convene to resolve disputes between the employer and the contractor and between the main contractor and the range of sub-contractors.  They will probably do this by a mix of conciliation, recommendation and ultimately adjudication.

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Their decisions may be advisory or contractually binding, pending further adjudication by a court or arbitral tribunal. 

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Dispute Boards may also be Ad Hoc and only be constituted as and when a dispute arises.

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There are various sets of Dispute Board Rules, Guides and Procedures, including those of the ICC, the CIArb, CPR, DRBF and ICE. We are familiar with all the major ones and our Members include Members of the prestigious FIDIC President’s List of Approved Dispute Adjudicators.