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This week is about Dispute Resolutions, what are the methods available and when to we use each one?

This episode covers PC5: Building Procurement from the Part 3 Criteria.

Before a dispute arise make sure you have in-house procedures in place, a good level of Personal Indemnity Insurance so if something does occur you have the means to deal with it quickly and efficiently in-house.

The ideal stages of Dispute Resolution are that you start with Negotiation where the parties try to resolve the issue between them in a timely and cost effective manner, whilst also preserving the relationship.

If that doesn’t resolve the issue then you move onto Stage 2 of using either Mediation/Conciliation which is essentially negotiation but with the assistance of a neutral third party, or Neutral Evaluation which again uses a neutral third party that has previous experience and states his view on the outcome at a trial to help settle the dispute with no binding effect, or Adjudication where again an expert is instructed and usually used in construction related disputes and the decision of the adjudicator will be binding.

If the issue then still isn’t settled that’s when you move on to Stage 3 of using either Arbitration which offers a binding outcome where the dispute is resolved by the decision of the arbitrator and offers the parties to opportunity decide between them how their dispute is to be resolved, resolution is guaranteed and decisions are legally binding and enforceable, or Expert Determination where an independent expert with knowledge in the field is appointed and gives a determination or by Litigation which involves trials and four proceeding, is the only one conducted in public, and can be lengthy, costly and damage the relationship. 

Follow the link or reading material below for more information:

• User’s Guide to Adjudication
• https://www.ribabooks.com/Mediation-of-Construction-Disputes_9781405169318
• https://www.ribabooks.com/Arbitration-Practice-in-Construction-Contracts_9780632057412
• https://www.ribabooks.com/Architects-Legal-Handbook-The-Law-for-Architects_9780367233686

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