FIDIC hosts an international forum for adjudicators at the London conference
FIDIC recently held the Official International Contract Users’ Conference in London. This was the first time in two years that this event would be held in person. It offered a unique opportunity for legal and contract experts, adjudicators, mediators and other industry professionals to discuss and exchange views on some of the pressing issues impacting the infrastructure industry. The conference also provided the occasion to network, catch up with colleagues, and discuss global trends and future challenges.
Professor John Uff, chair of the FCL Certification board gave a keynote address and spoke about the potential for infrastructure investment to be used as a key for revitalising and growing economies, while Thanos Totsikas, the FCL general manager, highlighted the benefits of certification and congratulated those 1,000 professionals who have been certified by FCL since its creation in 2021.
Aside from the various conference events and workshops, a dispute avoidance forum was held on 28 November 2022. It gave participants and dispute board practitioners the chance to delve deeper into global developments and issues affecting the dispute avoidance and adjudication sectors.
The discussions covered the practical aspects of dispute avoidance and how best practitioners could work together, share and disseminate best practices among dispute board experts. Many of those speaking at the event were members of the exclusive FIDIC President’s List of Certified Adjudicators, with each having decades of experience working on dispute boards around the globe.
It goes without saying that contract variations, claims and force majeure could adversely affect mega infrastructure projects, especially when rapidly rising inflation, post-pandemic financing and the need for better risk management strategies are factored into consideration. By encouraging a standing dispute avoidance and adjudication board (DAAB) in all 2017 contracts and subsequent publications, FIDIC has moved away from the previous ad-hoc DAB model of the prior contracts. This will also help to better mitigate against more strenuous legal consequences for the parties.
You can read more about the conference event by clicking on the link: https://www.fidic.org/node/39732
