International Construction Law Review
CLAIMS, DISPUTES AND ARBITRATION CLAUSES UNDER FIDIC RED AND GOLD BOOKS
Eng. Ramy I. Naguib*
Dips, PG Cert, BSc, M.ASCE, MCIArb
RICS Accredited Mediator
Chairman, CADRAS Engineering Contracts Services
1. INTRODUCTION
Interest in construction claims, disputes and dispute resolution techniques has rapidly increased over years of practice. Construction practitioners and professionals are always looking for the simplest, fastest and easiest to follow procedures concerning the submission, evaluation and settlement of claims and disputes. Such interest was acknowledged by the FIDIC when it first introduced the “Conditions of Contract for Construction for Building and Engineering Works designed by the Employer” (1st Edition) in 1999, which is still commonly known as the “new” Red Book. The Red Book introduced, for the first time, via clause 20 a further procedure regarding claims, disputes and dispute resolution to those which were previously followed under the 1987 “Works of Civil Engineering Construction” (4th Edition) of the Red Book (including all the amendments thereto). The new key element introduced via clause 20 of the Red Book was the Dispute Adjudication Board (DAB), which – among others – established requirements and procedural steps that represented, at the time of its introduction a significant added value in terms of submission, evaluation and settlement of claims, disputes and dispute resolution.
Since then FIDIC has employed every reasonable means to collect the feedback of professionals within the construction industry around the world regarding the new techniques and procedures introduced via clause 20 of the Red Book. The feedback received, in addition to the FIDIC’s own accumulated experience in the field, helped identify potential areas for developments within clause 20. These developments were taken into consideration during the preparation of the 2008 “Conditions of Contract for Design, Build and Operate Projects” (1st Edition); commonly known as the “Gold Book”.
Generally, by exploring the new formation and structure of clause 20 of the Gold Book, users shall notice that this new formation has included a
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