Expert determination: a suitable dispute resolution technique for offshore construction project disputes? Part II

There is a current perception that dispute is an unavoidable feature of any contract for the construction or conversion of offsore units. Allocation of design responsibility amongst several parties, coupled with vessels’ increasing technological complexity and the tight timeframes within which building work must usually be completed, provide fertile ground for disputes to develop. Contracting parties therefore normally make contractual provision for a means of resolving any dispute which might arise. This article, which has been published in two parts, considers the suitability of expert determination – the means by which parties to a contract jointly instruct a third party to decide an issue in a manner not subject to the laws of arbitration – for resolution of the particular types of dispute arisign in offshore construction.