Types of Claim - Construction Claims and Responses: Effective Writing and Presentation - page 33

published by the Dispute Review Board Foundation and the Dispute Board
Federation, one may wonder why all projects do not follow this route. A
dispute adjudication board consists of a one-person or three-person tribu-
nal that is appointed jointly by the parties to keep abreast of events on the
project and to be able to quickly provide an opinion or a decision on
matters concerning the Contract. Unlike arbitrators who are appointed
when a dispute has already occurred, the advantage of such a board is
that the board members can approach a dispute with prior knowledge of
the project and the parties and probably even the issue in question.
Additionally, the parties may refer a potential problem, possibly with regard
to the interpretation of the Contract, to the board and request an opinion.
An opinion provided by a panel who are experts in their fi eld will often
serve to prevent a matter from escalating to a point where the parties are
unable to agree.
In addition to dispute boards, adjudicators, mediators, arbitrators and
even the courts may sooner or later become involved if the claim escalates
to a dispute. In such cases, claims need to be prepared so that they may
be understood by parties with absolutely no previous knowledge of the
project. Whilst this topic is primarily aimed at those involved at everyday
project level, the principles discussed apply equally, if not more so, to
documents prepared for submission to such parties.
Dispute boards, adjudicators, arbitrators and the like are all required
to provide written accounts of their fi ndings. The principles of claim
writing also apply to such responses or determinations and Chapter 9
provides specifi c guidance to those involved in the preparation of such
documents.