Trends in Construction Dispute Resolution*

By Dr. Robert Gaitskell, Q.C.**

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Dispute resolution has never been more exciting. There is lots of it and it comes in a wide variety of flavours. About 10% of the UK’s gross national product is accounted for by construction activity, and this figure is probably a fair reflection of the high level of construction activity worldwide. So, what is happening in the arcane world of construction dispute resolution?

1.2 When I was called to the Bar twenty-seven years ago "alternative dispute resolution" did not exist, and even the phrase "dispute resolution" was rarely used. The only forms of dispute resolution regularly employed were Court litigation and arbitration. On isolated occasions there might be an expert determination. All three of these procedures (litigation, arbitration and expert determination) are, of course, final determinations subject only, in certain cases, to appeals in confined circumstances.