International Construction Law Review
NAVIGATING THE QUAGMIRE: CONFLICTS IN INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION ARBITRATION1
Professor Renato Nazzini,2
Professor of Law, King’s College London
James Pickavance,3
Partner, Jones Day
AND
Julian Bailey4
Partner, White & Case LLP
I. INTRODUCTION
Construction dispute resolution is self-evidently centred around issues arising from construction and engineering projects. The issues which typically arise on projects are many. Money may be unpaid for work performed. Work may have been performed late, or defectively, or both. Unforeseen issues may have arisen which bring the parties into conflict over who takes responsibility.
In all of these situations, the parties to the project will be in need of something: a way of resolving their dispute. It is ideal if a dispute may be resolved amicably, but if not it will need to be the subject of a form of binding adjudication – usually an arbitral tribunal, or a court. However, should matters reach a final, adjudicative forum, there is considerable scope for further disputes to arise – not as to the underlying issues in dispute, but in relation to matters that are ancillary or adjectival, yet represent critical cogs in the dispute resolution machine.
1 A paper jointly presented on 13 May 2021 as part of London International Disputes Week.
2 Professor of Law and Director of the Centre of Construction Law and Dispute Resolution, King’s College London and Partner, LMS Legal LLP, London.
3 Partner, Jones Day, London and Visiting Fellow of the Centre of Construction Law and Dispute Resolution, King’s College London.
4 Partner, White & Case LLP, London and Adjunct Professor of Law, Hamad bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar.
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