THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION BOARD FOUNDATION’S MANUAL:
A GUIDE TO BEST PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES
The Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF) held its Annual International Conference at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cape Town from 14 to 16 May 2025.
The conference brought together dispute board professionals, engineers, lawyers, and construction industry stakeholders from across the globe for three days of discussion, learning, and collaboration under the theme of enhancing the effectiveness of dispute boards in infrastructure delivery.
Founded in 1996, the DRBF is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the use of Dispute Boards (DBs) worldwide. The DBs are typically three-member panels of independent and neutral professionals established at the outset of a construction project to help prevent and resolve disputes.
The DRBF plays a critical role in setting global standards, providing training, and supporting best practices for dispute avoidance and resolution in infrastructure projects. The Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) NPC (AoA) was proud to be one of the sponsors of the event and it was well represented throughout the conference. The AoA was represented by me (in my former capacity as its vice chairperson), Mr J Mitchell, an AoA director and the chairperson of its Western Cape Branch, and Mr Chris Binnington, an AoA director and a past chairperson thereof.
At the conference, the DRBF kindly donated a copy of the current edition of its Dispute Board Manual – A Guide to Best Practices and Procedures publication to the AoA. This publication now forms part of the AoA’s ever growing and regularly updated George Quail Memorial Library, which is open for use by members during office hours at its head office in Sandton.
The current 2019 edition of Dispute Board Manual was preceded by earlier editions published in 1996 and 2007. It is published by SPARK Publications in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, and can be ordered from the SPARKpublications.com website as a softcover publication (ISBN: 978-1-943070-68-8) and in e-book format (ISBN: 978-1-943070-69-5).
The Dispute Board Manual was created by the DRBF to provide an authoritative explanation of DB processes – also referred to in different jurisdictions as ‘Dispute Review Board’, ‘Dispute Resolution Board’, ‘Dispute Avoidance Board’ and, for projects using FIDIC forms of contract or institutional rules, the most common terms are ‘Dispute Adjudication Board’ or ‘Dispute Avoidance and Adjudication Board’ – and it serves as a reference guide for users of the DB process worldwide.
The Dispute Board Manual addresses notable differences in procedures under variations in different jurisdictions internationally.
One of the consequences of the international success of DBs in avoiding and resolving construction disputes is that in 1995, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) published the first edition of its Orange Book which introduced its Dispute Adjudication Board concept into the suite of FIDIC contracts. Over time and pursuant to many developments, all of the FIDIC contracts now include the DB concept, and, since 2017, in its current revised form it provides for a ‘Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board’. Most other standard form construction contracts including for example JBCC, NEC and GCC include some or other standing or ad hoc DB process.
The Dispute Board Manual addresses the fundamentals of successful DBs and their significant role in both avoiding and resolving disputes between contracting parties on large and complex building and construction projects.
Given the widespread international use of the DB process, additional terminology issues occur based on local language, industry terminology, contracting procedures and cultural differences. These are all covered in the Glossary of the Dispute Board Manual.
The Dispute Board Manual contains a wealth of information compiled by its renowned experienced contributors, some of whom have been actively involved in DB processes for many decades, including for example DBs established in the 1970s during construction of the Eisenhower Tunnel for Interstate 70 in Colorado, USA, and in the 1990s during construction of the UK/France Channel Tunnel Project, the Hong Kong International Airport and the Ertan Hydroelectric Project in China.
The Dispute Board Manual’s Table of Contents provides a tantalising prospect of what is contained in this useful publication. It includes the following sections:
- Background on DBs, including, among other rubrics, a brief history of them and a comparison between DBs and other ADR processes.
- DB concepts, including, among other rubrics, the required qualities and attributes of DB members and the DRBF Code of Ethical Conduct.
- Establishing DBs, including, among others, best practice guidelines for contract documents.
- DB Implementation and Process, including, among other rubrics, the nomination and appointment of DB members, prehearing and hearing procedures and document preparation, implementation of DB findings and review, termination and renewal of DBs.
The Dispute Board Manual is a wisely composed and thoroughly comprehensive publication. It should, in my view, form part of any serious ADR practitioner’s library. Although I have had my copy for only a short time, it is already showing signs of wear from intense reading, referencing and annotation despite the fact that a new Stephen King novel and the latest editions of CAR magazine and SA Hunter are also calling for my attention.
ADV TJAART VAN DER WALT SC
Chairperson
Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) NPC
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