Decisions

 and  Recommenda-ons  of  Dispute  Boards  

 
 
Current  Prac-ce  in  the  UAE  

 
By  Dr.  Imad  Al  Jamal  
Outline  

I.  FIDIC  forms  and  dispute  boards  in  the  UAE  

II.  The  adop>on  of  dispute  boards  in  Abu  
Dhabi  
III.  Current  use  of  dispute  boards  in  the  UAE  
IV.  Local  views  on  Dispute  boards  
V.  Conclusions  
I.  FIDIC  forms  and  dispute  boards  in  the  UAE  
I.1  Use  of  FIDIC  standard  forms  
 
•  FIDIC’s  standard  forms  of  contract  have  
widely  been  used  for  some  >me  in  the  
UAE  
•  Standard  forms  were  normally  heavily  
modified  to  shiH  risk  contractors  
•  Although  his  authority  to  approve  changes  
to  contract  price  and  program  was  oHen  
curtailed,  the  engineer  was  s>ll  tasked  
with  rendering  decisions  
I.  FIDIC  forms  and  dispute  boards  in  the  UAE  
I.1  Use  of  FIDIC  standard  forms  

•  When  dispute  boards  were  introduced  

with  the  FIDIC  1999  standard  forms,  the  
provision  was  nearly  always  removed  form  
the  contracts  offered  to  tenderers  

•  The  result  was  a  contract  that  made  

arbitra>on  the  only  independent  means  of  
dispute  resolu>on  
II.  The  Abu  Dhabi  adop-on  of  dispute  boards    
 
II.  1  Evolu>on  of  dispute  boards  in  Abu  Dhabi  
 
•  Abu  Dhabi  government  decided  to  prepare  
new  standard  forms  of  contract  for  use  on  
government  projects  
•  Under  license  of  FIDIC,  build  only  and  design  
&  build  contract  forms  were  developed  using  
the  FIDIC  1999  standard  forms  
•  The  government  sought  extensive  input  of  
local  en>>es  including  governmental  
departments,  consultants  and  contractors  
II.  The  Abu  Dhabi  adop-on  of  dispute  boards    
 
II.  1  Evolu>on  of  dispute  boards  in  Abu  Dhabi  
 
•  Abu  Dhabi  government  decided  to  prepare  
new  standard  forms  of  contract  for  use  on  
government  projects  
•  Under  license  of  FIDIC,  build  only  and  design  
&  build  contract  forms  were  developed  using  
the  FIDIC  1999  standard  forms  
•  The  government  sought  extensive  input  of  
local  en>>es  including  governmental  
departments,  consultants  and  contractors  
II.  The  Abu  Dhabi  adop-on  of  dispute  boards    
 
II.  1  Evolu>on  of  dispute  boards  in  Abu  Dhabi  
 
•  The  role  of  engineer  and  use  of  dispute  
adjudica>on  boards  was  discussed  in  
detail  

•  The  build  only  contract  was  published  and  

put  into  use  in  late  2006  
II.  The  Abu  Dhabi  adop-on  of  dispute  boards    
 
II.  2  Dispute  provisions  of  Abu  Dhabi  new  standard  form  
 
v  The  Abu  Dhabi  standard  form  build  only  provisions  are  
derived  from  to  the  standard  FIDIC  1999  Red  Book  
v  The  dispute  provisions  appear  in  Clause  20  
v  Notable  differences  are:  

C1  20.1  –  Contractor’s  claims  

•  In  ADH  form  the  employer  handles  claims  instead  of  the  
engineer  
•  This  change  reflects  perhaps  the  reality  of  claims  
nego>a>on  
II.  The  Abu  Dhabi  adop-on  of  dispute  boards    
 
II.  2  Dispute  provisions  of  Abu  Dhabi  new  standard  
form  
 
Cl  20.2  –  Appointment  of  the  dispute  adjudica>on  
board  
 
•  DAB  not  appointed  un>l  aHer  dispute  arises  
 
•  DAB  does  not  perform  its  tradi>onal  role  of  
preven>ng  disagreements  escala>ng  into  formal  
disputes  
II.  The  Abu  Dhabi  adop-on  of  dispute  boards    
 
II.  2  Dispute  provisions  of  Abu  Dhabi  new  standard  
form  
 
Cl  20.4  –  Obtaining  dispute  adjudica>on  board’s  
decision  
 
•  DAB  has  only  42  days  instead  of  84  
•  Period  can  be  extended  as  proposed  by  DAB  
and  approved  by  the  par>es  
 II.  The  Abu  Dhabi  adop-on  of  dispute  boards    
 
II.  2  Dispute  provisions  of  Abu  Dhabi  new  standard  form  
 
Where  a  party  does  not  accept  the  board’s  decision  
 
C120.5  –  Amicable  se`lement  
•  The  Abu  Dhabi  form  incorporates  addi>onal  wording  
to  involve  senior  representa>ves  of  the  par>es  into  
the  dispute  
•  This  encourages  dialog  by  par>es  without  previous  
involvement  in  the  dispute  and  capable  of  giving  it  a  
fresh  look  
 II.  The  Abu  Dhabi  adop-on  of  dispute  boards    
 
II.  2  Dispute  provisions  of  Abu  Dhabi  new  standard  form  
 
C1  20.6  –  Dispute  resolu>on  procedure  
 
•  Added  to  this  clause  is  a  paragraph  that  
complements  C120.5.  it  provides  a  further  30  day  
cooling  off  period,  requires  independent  
management  review  and  reinforces  the  obliga>on  to  
appoint  senior  representa>ves  to  try  and  resolve  any  
dispute  rather  than  resort  t  arbitra>on  
 III.  Current  use  of  dispute  boards  in  the  UAE  
 
  and  how  are  dispute  boards  being  used  in  the  
Where  
UAE?  
 
v  Contracts,  including  their  the  dispute  resolu>on  
process,  are  confiden>al;  therefore  detailed  public  
informa>on  is  limited  
v  Most  informa>on  is  exchanged  informally  
v  A  recent  presenta>on  in  Abu  Dhabi  introduced  
experience  on  two  ongoing  projects  in  Abu  Dhabi  
•  An  educa>onal  facility  project  using  Ad  Hoc  Boards  
•  Larger  development  project  with  a  standing  board  
 III.  Current  use  of  dispute  boards  in  the  UAE  
 
 
1.  Educa>onal   facility  project  –  Ad  Hoc  
 
Disputes  presented  to  the  board:    30  
Board  decisions  taken  to  arbitra>on:    0  
   
2.  Mul>-­‐billion  dirham  development  project  –  
standing  board  disputes  presented  to  the  board:  
 
4full  hearings  (2pending  submissions)  
Board  decisions  taken  to  arbitra>on:    0  
 III.  Current  use  of  dispute  boards  in  the  UAE  
 
DAB    are  also  being  used  in  other  Emirates  
 
•  Large  building  project  in  Dubai  with  standing  
board  appointed  aHer  first  dispute  

Disputes  presented  to  the  board:    10  

Board  decisions  taken  to  arbitra>on:    0  
 
 
 IV.  Local  views  on  Dispute  boards  
 
How  is  the  introduc>on  of  dispute  boards  being  
  received?  
 
General  concerns  have  been  voiced:  
1.  Employers/engineers/contractors  not  familiar  with  
concept  
2.  The  unknown  is  approached  with  cau>on  
3.  Worry  of  engineer  failing  to  properly  manage  claims  
and  passing  issues  to  the  board  
4.  Concern  that  >me  will  be  wasted  geing  resolu>on  
from  the  board  
5.  Just  another    hurdle  before  arbitra>on  
 IV.  Local  views  on  Dispute  boards  
 
How  is  the  introduc>on  of  dispute  boards  being  
 
received?  
 
Further  nega>ve  views  have  been  voiced  in  the  press:  
 
1.  Collabora>ve  methods  have  not  worked  in  the  
UAE  
2.  Disputes  boards  will  not  work  in  prac>ce  
3.  Dispute  board  decisions  cannot  be  enforced    
4.  Cost  of  maintaining  a  dispute  board  will  be  
excessive  
 IV.  Local  views  on  Dispute  boards  
 
Is  all  this  nega>vity  warranted?  
 
Thankfully  “NO”.  
 
1.  Posi>ve  input  and  feedback  of  engineers/
contractors  when  Abu  Dhabi  Municipality  adopted  
requirement  of  dispute  boards  indicates  buy-­‐in  
2.  Contractors  welcome  truly  independent  claim/
dispute  evalua>on  
3.  Speedy  resolu>on  allows  par>es  to  concentrate  on  
project  progress  
 
 IV.  Local  views  on  Dispute  boards  
 
Is  all  t  his  nega>vity  warranted?  
 
4.  Having  no  major  disputes  at  the  end  of  
project  construc>on  frees  up  resources  for  
the  next  project  and  saves  all  par>es  staff  
and  overhead  costs  
5.  Actual  DAB  use  in  Abu  Dhabi  shows  
acceptance  of  board  decisions  and  
arbitra>on  avoidance  
 
 IV.  Local  views  on  Dispute  boards  
 
What  about  the  nega>vity  voiced?  
   
1.  Lack  of  familiarity  with  DABs  can  to  overcome  with  
advice  as  is  already  provided  by  legal  and  claim  
consultants  regarding  arbitra>on  
2.  Engineers  will  con>nue  to  exercise  their  
professional  judgment  in  evalua>on  of  contractor  
claims  as  they  do  now  
3.  Speedy  process  will  actually  reduce  project  legal  
and  consultant  costs    
4.  Experience  shows  that  DAB  decisions  are  usually  
accepted  by  the  par>es  and  only  extremely  rarely  
overturned  by  an  arbitral  tribunal  
 V.  Conclusions  
 
1.  DABs  
  have  a  proven  interna>onal  track  record  in  
>mely  resolu>on  of  disputes  and  avoiding  
arbitra>on,  thereby  saving  project  costs  and  
maintaining  amicable  commercial  rela>ons  
2.  DABs  on  projects  in  the  emirates  are  
demonstra>ng  DAB  use  is  viable  in  the  UAE  
3.  Although  there  is  skep>cism  and  reluctance  of  
some  to  the  use  of  DABs,  this  may  be  because  of  
vested  interests  or  reluctance  to  accept  change  to  
status  quo  
 V.  Conclusions  
 
4.  Confidence  
  in  the  procurement  process  will  
be  supported  by  the  inclusion  of  DABs  in  
large,  especially  interna>onal,  construc>on  
contracts  like  then  capital  projects  that  make  
up  Abu  Dhabi’s  2030  plan  
5.  DABs  are  here  and  employers,  engineers  and  
consultants,  as  well  as  contractors  need  to  
be  made  aware  of  how  to  effec>vely  use  
DABs  to  avoid  arbitra>on  
 
•  Prepared  by  Dr.  Imad  Al  Jamal.  
•  Phone:  +971  50  6228783  
•  Fax:          +971    4    3855699  
•  Email:  imad53pn@hotmail.com  
imad53@eim.ae  
                               imad53pn@yahoo.com  
                               imad.aljamal@idraac.com  
•  Website:  www.idraac.com  
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