What Constitutes World's Best Practice for Dispute Avoidance in Standard Form Contracts?

Abstract

This article provides a timely comparative study of dispute avoidance procedures (DAPs) in use around the world to determine what constitutes world’s best practice when it comes to the prevention and management of construction disputes. Notwithstanding the increased use of DAPs in other jurisdictions, and the documented success of these processes, the Australian construction industry has yet to embrace DAPs in any standard form contract. This article examines the use of DAPs at the international level in order to identify the most effective contractual provisions for dispute avoidance, and concludes with some recommendations as to how the Australian construction industry should move forward.

Keywords: construction law, construction contract, dispute avoidance, DAPs

JEL Classification: K39