In this interactive session, a panel of well-known practitioners will propose their ‘favourite’ decisions/legal developments from the last 12 months that will shape current and future construction disputes. Following this, the audience will then have a chance to weigh-in with a live vote for the top legal development relevant to construction arbitration of 2025-2026.

One of the reasons construction arbitrations have become so expensive, is the sheer volume of material generated by modern projects. Aside from technical material, it is increasingly common, when a project is in distress, for contract management functions to seek to create paper trails to support or defend against possible claims.  

This panel discusses whether creating paper trails is actually helpful: to the ongoing project or in a later arbitration.  Or would these resources be better spent, and if so, doing what? 

Our panel discusses how to make construction arbitration more efficient, both as to duration and cost, without compromising on the requirement for robust enforceable awards.  Can/should construction arbitrations follow the adjudication approach of quick and dirty justice? Will the new UK Arbitration Act make a difference? Is summary determination a viable option in complex arbitrations? In the ‘safe space’ of GAR Live, the audience will be encouraged to suggest their own ideas to streamline construction arbitrations for discussion by the panel. 

Experts play a significant role in the resolution of construction disputes.  But it is now not uncommon for tribunals to be faced with thousands of pages of expert reports supported by detailed native format appendices that are almost impossible to navigate for the average (lawyer) arbitrator.  Not only has the volume of material filed by experts expanded exponentially, but the cost of preparing these reports often matches (if not exceeds) legal costs.

This panel brings together delay and quantum experts and arbitrators to discuss what expert evidence is actually useful for tribunals, and how this can be collated and presented efficiently.