Mediation and dispute boards

Abstract

Dispute boards are well established as a reliable way of the parties to a major project minimising the risk of significant disputes arising and having to be referred to litigation or arbitration at the end of the project. This paper considers some of the rules under which dispute boards operate and the extent to which under those rules, and under relevant codes of ethics, a dispute board could act in a mediation capacity. It highlights some of the pitfalls involved in the dispute board acting in this capacity and suggests some practical ways in which the dispute board members might be able to assist the parties in reaching a speedy settlement whilst at the same time maintaining their third-party neutral status in the event that the mediation is unsuccessful. The paper also goes on to consider how such a mediation could be conducted and whether private meetings with each party in the absence of the other is a sensible course of action for the dispute board to adopt.