Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Boards (DAABs) play a vital role in the effective delivery of construction and infrastructure projects, providing a continuous mechanism for addressing issues before they escalate and for resolving disputes while projects remain underway. 

This session will explore the full spectrum of support that DAABs can provide throughout the life of a project – from their proactive role in dispute avoidance and informal assistance, through to formal decision-making when disputes arise. It will consider how standing DAABs can contribute to effective project delivery, maintain momentum and relationships, and provide timely decisions that allow the parties and the works to move forward. 

The session will also examine the relationship between DAABs and arbitration, including how arbitral institutions and tribunals approach DAAB decisions when disputes proceed to arbitration. The discussion will consider both the substantive treatment of DAAB decisions and the practical questions surrounding compliance and enforcement. 

Bringing together the perspectives of DAAB members, practitioners, arbitral institutions and contract users, the session will explore how the interaction between dispute boards and arbitration can operate efficiently as an integrated dispute resolution system for major construction projects. 

Key Topics: 

• The role of standing DAABs throughout the project lifecycle 
• Dispute avoidance, informal assistance and early intervention 
• DAABs as a mechanism for timely and effective decision-making 
• Efficiency of the DAAB process and maintaining progress of the works 
• The relationship between DAAB decisions and subsequent arbitration 
• Treatment of DAAB decisions by arbitral tribunals and institutions 
• Compliance with and enforcement of DAAB decisions 
• Strengthening the interaction between dispute boards and arbitration