Pivotal New Roles and Changes Introduced by the 2017 FIDIC’s Claim and Dispute Resolution Mechanism

Abstract

The inevitable nature of claims and disputes in construction projects necessitates effective administration and resolution mechanisms. To this end, mechanisms stipulated in the standard contract forms in use are frequently streamlined to address issues pertaining to their application in practice and to become more aligned with the laws prevailing over their use. The case of the widely accepted standard conditions by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) is not an exception, with the latest release having taken place at the end of 2017. In this overdue release, major changes have been introduced that appear to be driven by the need to promote dispute avoidance and ensure a regulated progression of claims along the claim and dispute timeline. As such, the objective of the work presented in this paper was twofold: (1) to conduct a thorough review and detailed analyses of the newly released conditions pertaining to the initiation of claims and their progression into disputes, and (2) to provide a systematic comparison of these conditions with those of the previous release made in 1999. The findings revealed significant changes that involve (1) new roles required of both the engineer and the employer (owner) in relation to assessing the validity of the claim notice and the satisfaction of the claim contractual basis requirements, (2) an augmented consultative role for the engineer in reaching agreement before resorting to the issuance of a determination, (3) giving the engineer’s already binding determination the possibility of becoming final, and (4) regulating the timing of the possible referral of the matter in dispute to adjudication. Finally, the newly inherent dispute avoidance approach has been highlighted through the offered comparative time-bar analysis.