Originally from: Precedent in International Arbitration

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I. INTRODUCTION

As I did not choose the topic of my talk, I can only speculate about why, in the context of this conference dealing with “Precedent in International Arbitration,” it might have been proposed. The reasons would appear to have included the following:

1. It is well established that construction contracts often give rise to disputes—they are endemic to construction;
2. The contracts published by the Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils (the International Federation of Consulting Engineers), commonly known as “FIDIC,” are perhaps the best known and most widely used standard forms of international construction contract;
3. Since the first FIDIC standard form of construction contract was published in 1957, more than fifty years ago, they have provided for the final settlement of disputes under the Rules
of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (the "ICC").