This paper reviews the workings of an alternative dispute resolution mechanism broadly known as a Dispute Board. Dispute Boards are a form of adjudication, or conciliation, featuring a panel of experts named at the outset of the project. The Board visits the job site regularly during construction and keeps current on the project’s progress, even when there are no formal disputes. This paper covers the historical beginnings of Boards in the Americas, through their adoption by FIDIC (International Federation of Consulting Engineers) in their standard forms of Contract in 1999, and later by many multilateral development banks and international finance institutions, notably through the promulgation of the FIDIC MDB version of its Construction Contract issued first in 2005, and also through the publication and promulgation of the ICC Dispute Board Rules in 2004. The paper also describes the various types of Boards found in the FIDIC suite of contracts (standing and ad hoc) and rules for the use of the various Boards under the ICC Rules (DRB, DAB and CDB). The mechanics of operation are covered, and the advantages of the systems, especially the forms which allow the Board to play an advisory role.
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