국제중재를 대비한 해외 건설 클레임 관리

Abstract

The parties to an international construction contract almost always find themselves in the midst of a series of construction claims during the course of the project. These claims, if not resolved early in accordance with the dispute resolution clauses in the contract, will eventually become subject to an international arbitration. It is therefore important to prepare and manage the claims with the eventual arbitration in mind; ironically, if claims are better managed in preparation of an arbitration, they are more likely to be accepted in an early stage of the dispute resolution process. The aim of this article is to provide practical guide on how to properly prepare and manage international construction claims under the dispute resolution procedure in FIDIC construction contracts, so as to be eventually successful in the arbitration. This article first elaborates on the claim notice that a contractor has to send in order to raise a valid claim. Next, it emphasizes the importance of contemporary records and detailed particulars which are needed to substantiate the claims. The recent issue relating to the effect of a ‘binding but not final’ decision of DAB and the most recent solution provided byt FIDIC on this issue. Finally, the authors discuss the possibility and scope of changing the claims at the arbitration stage. Korean construction companies should now pay more attention to properly managing their international construction claims, and should establish a proper claim management system that includes document management system and expert aid at an early stage.