Referring Disputes To An Ad Hoc DAB Under The FIDIC Form

What if the DAB declines the referral?

Under the standard FIDIC form (both 1999 and 2017), the basic default position is that obtaining a Dispute Adjudication Board (“DAB”) decision is a pre-condition to a dispute being referred to arbitration. Where there is no DAB, questions sometimes arise about how a party can actually proceed to arbitration.¹

In the case of DSR v DSQ [2026] SGHC 67, the Singapore High Court had to consider a variant on this theme: here the DAB did not consider that it had jurisdiction to hear the claims that were referred to it. The DAB was an ad hoc one, and the case provides useful guidance as to when you can refer disputes to this type of board. The case also considers whether objections based on the alleged non-compliance with pre-arbitral procedure go towards admissibility of the disputes which were referred to arbitration, or to questions about the jurisdiction of the Tribunal.