FIDIC publishes new practice note on the appointment of dispute boards

04 Dec 2024

news image

FIDIC has published a new practice note on the key issue of the appointment of dispute boards. The note, Practice Note II Appointment of Dispute Boards, produced by FIDIC’s Dispute Avoidance and Adjudication Forum, was launched during the Official FIDIC International Contract Users’ Conference in London on 4 December 2024.

The new practice note highlights many of the key aspects of the appointment of dispute boards including how they sit in FIDIC forms of contract, the key tasks involved in selecting and appointing the right dispute board for projects, how to decide between a standing or ad-hoc dispute board, deciding on the number of dispute board members, following the appointment process, appointing dispute board members within contractual timelines, finding the right members and proposing them to the other party for agreement, how to consider the contractual list of potential members before entering a contract and ensuring that potential dispute board members meet the contractual requirements.

With dispute avoidance becoming ever more critical when it comes to successful project delivery, this latest practice note should be of enormous assistance to the industry.

The note was produced following work undertaken by a FIDIC working group set up by FIDIC’s Dispute Avoidance and Adjudication Forum to develop a new practice note on the appointment of dispute boards. The working group consists of Daduna Kokhreidze, general counsel at FIDIC and the following FIDIC Certified Adjudicators and members of the FIDIC President’s List – Taner Dedezade and Yann Schneller and with contributions from Nicholas Gould of Fenwick Elliott.

The practice note has also been discussed as part of the forum, contributed to by many, and reviewed by Prof Dr Nael Bunni, John Papworth, Vincent Leloup, with Suzanne Rattray, Patrizia Palmitessa-Savric with additional comments received from Jeremy Glover and Chris Seppala, legal advisor of FIDIC. The note has been produced under the general direction of the FIDIC Dispute Avoidance and Adjudication Forum standing group consisting of John Papworth, Suzanne Rattray, Patrizia Palmitessa-Savric, Kok Fong Chow, Lindy Patterson, Taner Dedezade, Yann Schneller, coordinated by FIDIC General Counsel Daduna Kokhreidze.

Commenting on the launch of the practice note, FIDIC president Catherine Karakatsanis said: “We know that avoiding disputes early and quickly is in the best interests of all parties to construction projects. We anticipate that this latest practice note will be enthusiastically received by project stakeholders as important and helpful guidance when appointing dispute boards on their projects. FIDIC is grateful for the key work of the FIDIC Dispute Avoidance and Adjudication Forum in preparing this practice note.”

Click here to download the new FIDIC dispute avoidance practice note.

Image above shows members of the FIDIC Dispute Avoidance and Adjudication Forum at their meeting during the International Contract Users’ Conference in London on 4 December 2024.

Related news

Webinar highlights collective global effort to root out corruption

07-Dec-2023

FIDIC honours Dick Kell with prestigious Prangey Award

16-Sep-2021

Coronavirus will change the way we work for ever

07-May-2020

Thanos Totsikas appointed as general manager of FIDIC Credentialing

11-Feb-2021