After six months of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, which has put (and continues to put) social, economic and legal systems to an unprecedented test, governments around the world have started to relax lock down measures and the construction industry is slowly starting to move again. As workers go back to construction sites, and engines roar again, owners, contractors, subcontractors, vendors and consultants start looking into contract clauses and claims of all sorts flourish. The reason for this webinar is to explore different approaches to construction disputes in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, trying to identify potential trends in claims and in the resolution of those claims, but also challenges derived from the ‘new normality’ derived from social distancing and its impact on court, arbitration, mediation and dispute board proceedings.
The international construction industry is grappling with the consequences of the global pandemic. The impact of Covid-19 on construction projects is far from consistent: some construction projects came to an abrupt halt as Governments ordered work to stop; other projects were able to continue, but with significant delays and reduced productivity; but in some locations projects have raced ahead, taking advantage of the global lockdown to work longer hours on projects normally constrained by limited work opportunities. Much has been said about the need to work collaboratively through the pandemic, to avoid adding protracted disputes to already difficult working conditions. But how realistic is this approach? And is it a temporary reprieve, or will be soon (if not already!) return to ‘business as usual’ with claims being escalated through multi-tier dispute resolution clauses up to arbitration and local courts.
In this webinar, the Dispute Resolution Subcommittee of the IBA International Construction Projects Committee will speak with representatives from arbitral institutions, FIDIC, practitioners, arbitrators and judges and dispute boards, to hear their experiences over recent months, and their expectations for the future of dispute resolution in the construction sector.
Certificate of Attendance
Certificates of attendance for this webinar will be provided to all IBA members who have registered in advance and attended the live broadcast for a minimum of 30 minutes based on verified sign-in and sign-out times. Certificates can only be issued to the name provided at the time of registration.
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Certificates for non-members are chargeable, please make enquiries at webinars@int-bar.org.
Thomas Frad Karasek Wietrzyk Rechtsanwälte, Vienna; Vice Chair, Dispute Resolution Subcommittee, IBA International Construction Projects Committee
Ms. Nadar is active in large-scale cross-border infrastructure and defence programs. For over thirty years she has handled all phases of their negotiation and implementation. She advises clients on strategic procurement planning, contract drafting, contract management and dispute resolution. She acts as arbitrator, mediator, adjudicator and Dispute Board member and has experience as president and member of tribunals under ICC, SCC, DIAC, AAA and UNCITRAL rules. She is listed on the Panel of Conciliators at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the FIDIC President’s list. She has carried out dispute resolution assignments for organizations such as the World Bank, USAID and US DoD and many commercial players. Ms Nadar holds a BS degree in Electrical Engineering (University of Nebraska), an MBA (University of Texas-Austin) and an LL.M. in International Commercial Dispute Resolution (Queen Mary, University of London).
Donald Charrett
Dr Charrett is a Barrister and practises in construction law as an Arbitrator, Expert Determiner, Mediator and Member of Dispute Boards. He is a member of the FIDIC President’s List of Adjudicators. As Senior Fellow at Melbourne University, he co-presents a Master’s course in international construction law.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, he worked as an engineer for over 30 years.
Dr Charrett has published widely and presented numerous conference papers and training courses. He is the author/joint author/editor of five books on construction law, including the recently published “The International Application of FIDIC Contracts: A Practical Guide”.
Gary Born
Gary Born is Chair of the International Arbitration Group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. He has served as counsel in over 675 arbitrations, including several of the largest arbitrations in ICC and ad hoc history, and has sat as arbitrator in more than 250 institutional and ad hoc arbitrations.
Mr. Born is a preeminent authority in the field, renowned as the author of International Commercial Arbitration (3rd ed. forthcoming 2020, Kluwer International), the leading treatise on the subject. He is also the author of International Arbitration: Law and Practice (2d ed. 2016), International Civil Litigation in U.S. Courts (6th ed. 2018), and a number of other works. Mr. Born is an Honorary Professor of Law at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland and Tsinghua University, Beijing and teaches widely at law schools in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. He serves as President of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre Court of Arbitration.
Sharon Vogel
Sharon is a named Partner and Co-Chair of the Construction and Infrastructure Law group at Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP. She handles the negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation of construction disputes and has appeared at all levels of court. The types of projects she has worked on include: highways, railways and other transit projects, tunnels, pipelines, mines, industrial facilities, commercial buildings, and condominiums. She has been involved with Public Policy mandates, including acting as co-counsel retained by the Ontario government and federal government to prepare reports and make recommendations on prompt payment and adjudication.
Sharon is a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne where she teaches international construction law. She is a frequent speaker and lecturer at construction industry events and is a co author of a book entitled "A Guide to Canadian Construction Insurance Law". She is ranked by Who’s Who Legal as one of the top three construction lawyers in the country, and was named as one of the 25 most influential lawyers in Canada in 2017 by Canadian Lawyer, and Benchmark Litigation has consistently named her one of the top 25 women in litigation in Canada. Sharon is a Certified Specialist in Construction Law and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Canadian College of Construction Lawyers, and American College of Construction Lawyers.
Jaime Gray
Founding Partner of NPG Abogados (Lima based law firm). Construction Lawyer and specialist in Dispute Resolution.
Has represented owners, engineering companies and contractors in landmark cases involving all types of infrastructure. Has been involved in many construction projects using FIDIC contract forms. Noteworthy legal participation in the Pan American Games Lima 2019 using NEC contracts.
Has been a member of arbitral tribunals and dispute boards in Latin America.
He was the First President of the Peruvian Society of Construction Law and has served as Co-Chair of the International Construction Projects Committee of the International Bar Association (2018-2019). He is a fellow of the International Academy of Construction Projects and is the Country Representative for Peru of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation.
Teaches construction law at the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences and the University of the Pacific.