Day 2 of the Official FIDIC International Contract Users Conference on 3 December 2025 continued with sessions on the upcoming FIDIC Collaborative Contract Form, an examination of how emerging AI technologies are influencing the roles, responsibilities and interactions of parties within FIDIC contracts, the dual role of dispute boards and an exploration of the current trends in international arbitration.
The planned FIDIC Collaborative Contract Form is aimed at supporting improved collaboration between project participants to achieve clearly defined project outcomes ushering in a new era of partnership in project execution. The contract should be appropriate for any project where enhanced cooperation and early contractor involvement is needed, particularly those involving complex, multi-party interactions. A packed conference session on this issue introduced some of the key features of the collaborative contract, outlining its unique approach, practical applications and highlighted how it will promote shared responsibility, collaborative governance and performance-based delivery across the entire project lifecycle.
“Collaboration should unlock innovation,” said Mike Hunting, complex programmes director at AtkinsRealis. An enthusiastic champion for collaborative and innovative delivery and contract models, Hunting said that the new contract was a way to bring “the best of FIDIC together”. Collaborative delivery, from funding through the whole project lifecycle, is a key enabler and having the right contract forms to support it is key, he said.
A keenly anticipated discussion on Artificial Intelligence and FIDIC Contracts, chaired by Stacy Sinclair, partner and head of innovation and technology at Fenwick Elliott, saw an expert group of panellists looking at how AI technologies are influencing parties working on FIDIC-based construction contracts, highlighting practical applications, human oversight and how the industry can adapt for greater efficiency. Some of the issues highlighted in this discussion included feedback and insights from AI providers, the use of AI in contract management and project delivery, enhancing communication and decision-making through AI, balancing AI outputs with human judgment, potential opportunities for improved efficiency across the project lifecycle and the evolving roles of project participants in an AI environment.
Talking about the use of AI in contract management, legal counsel for STRABAG, Gerald Feilecker, highlighted an 18-country pilot study involving 80 professionals where use cases in expert groups, each covering a specific domain of expertise, were aiming to identify where AI shows the most promise and develop prompt templates that ensure optimal performance in targeted use cases. The platform being used for this work is actively evolving throughout the pilot, with user feedback directly shaping its development and continuous learning is helping users discover new features and improve their workflow over time, said Feilecker.
Pinpointing some “hard truths for contract managers,” Vladimir Milovanovic, CEO of Lupa Technology said that traditional ways of working were breaking under the sheer weight of data volume. “The contract is not the single source of truth – reality lives in uncontrolled channels like inboxes, chat logs, meeting minutes and photos,” he said. Milovanovic claimed that notice and programme obligations are “breached quietly, not out of bad faith, but because nobody sees all the signals in time”. By the time a claim emerges, key people have moved on and only the documents ‘remember’ what happened, said Milovanovic.
Pictured above are the panellists in the Arbitration in Practice session, chaired by Aisha Nadar of Runeland Law.
Taner Dedezade, barrister and head of chambers at International Construction Chambers, talked attendees through the use of AI in a multi-tiered FIDIC dispute resolution process, highlighting the different points in the process where AI could be used to assist. He asked his audience in a poll whether there should be a new AI tier under FIDIC contracts either before the engineer agreement/determination phase, before the DB phase, in the amicable settlement phase or after the request for arbitration was issued. The audience reaction was mixed with some reticence about adopting the use of AI currently in the FIDIC dispute process.
The session on Dispute Boards – balancing dispute avoidance and decision-making, chaired by Shura Construction Management CEO Husni Madi, examined the dual role of Dispute Boards under FIDIC contracts – supporting dispute avoidance, while being prepared to issue binding decisions when needed. Practical examples were shared on when and how to transition from informal assistance to decision-making. On the basis that “Looking back can help going forward,” David Heslett, founder and managing director of ECV Consultancy, spoke about the historic role of the engineer in dispute avoidance and claims management.
The session also launched the new FIDIC Practice Note III – Decisions: Preparation and Composition. to provide best practice guidance to adjudicators in carrying out their decision-writing function envisioned under the FIDIC forms of contract. Click here to read more about the new practice note.
The final session of the conference on Arbitration in Practice, chaired by Aisha Nadar, arbitrator, mediator and dispute board member at Runeland Law, looked into current trends in international arbitration, including common dispute types, emerging outcomes and the growing use of expedited and compliance procedures in construction-related disputes. Citing the ICC Report on Construction Arbitration, attendees were informed that there is or should be no mystique about arbitrations concerning international construction disputes. They are in many respects no different from other international commercial arbitrations, except that they are frequently more complex (both factually and technically), they can generate difficult points of law and procedure relating to specialised forms of contract unknown to those not involved in construction and they still seem to require many more documents to be examined than other types of disputes.
Edward Shaw, a partner at Pinsent Masons, highlighted some of the types of contractual structure disputes including EPC Lump Sum vs Collaborative Models and Joint Venture Disputes and also procedural dispute types such as Bond Call/Performance Security Disputes and dispute board enforcement. Other panellists in this session were Michael Schneider, senior counsel at LALIVE, Lindy Patterson, adjudicator and arbitrator at 39 Essex Chambers and Colleen Parker Bacquet, counsel at the International Chamber of Commerce. They addresses a range of issues including the ICC report statistics, arbitration tools in practice and the role of the technical advisor.
Summing up the conference, FIDIC CEO Susanna Zammataro said: “This whole conference has once again demonstrated the global use of FIDIC contracts in various sectors and underscored the crucial role that these contracts play in delivering the world’s infrastructure. I am always impressed by the enthusiasm, interest and involvement of our contract users at events like this one. FIDIC relies on your input and feedback to ensure that we keep our contracts up to date and in tune with the latest industry developments and we really do appreciate the time you have taken out of your schedules, not just to attend this event but also to participate so enthusiastically in the discussions, Q&A sessions, workshops and forums.”
FIDIC is grateful for the support it has received from the sponsors of the 2025 Official FIDIC International Contract Users Conference. Thanks go to platinum sponsors White & Case, Pinsent Masons and Lupa Technology and to gold sponsors Fenwick Elliott, CMS, HFW and ECV.
Main photograph shows Stacy Sinclair, partner and head of innovation and technology at Fenwick Elliott, speaking during the Artificial Intelligence and FIDIC Contracts session.
