MGMT311 Trends in Construction Dispute ResolutionIntroduction10% of the UK's gross national product is construction activity, meaning there is a lot of dispute resolution and it is available in a wide variety of flavors. 35 years ago “alternative dispute resolution” did not exist (Gaitskell says 27 years, but the documents were made in 2005…), and the phrase “dispute resolution” was rarely used. The only forms of dispute resolution regularly employed were court litigation and arbitration. On isolated occasions there may be an expert decision. These are all final determinations, subject only to appeals in limited circumstances. Over the last 10/18 years a series of new dispute resolution procedures have become available especially in the construction sector. These new procedures generally do not constitute a final decision in the same way that litigation, arbitration, or an expert decision is. These are mainly processes that the parties can use if they wish, in order to avoid the final decision by a court, an arbitrator or an expert. These new procedures have been adopted widely in the UK and abroad, because they offer parties the ability to control and reduce the particular dangers associated with determination procedures; i.e. costs, time and outcome uncertainty. The seven types of dispute resolution in this document naturally fall into two categories. Final Determination Procedures - Judicial Litigation - Arbitration - Expert Determination Preliminary Determination Procedures - Mediation - Early Neutral Assessment - Adjudication - Dispute Committees / PanelsFinal Determination ProceduresJudicial LitigationFor the purposes of construction disputes, "judicial litigation" means the processes in what was known as Official…middle of paper…any incipient controversy. This generally prevents the dispute from turning into arbitration. The decision made is binding only temporarily and can be contested by one of the parties, who will then have to turn to the arbitral tribunal. However, disputes committees have a good record, approximately 97% of referred disputes never go to arbitration or litigation. The use of dispute committees began in the United States in the 1970s and was adopted by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) in the mid-1990s. ICE published its Dispute Committee Rules in 2005, and its use looks set to expand further. Conclusion Overall the number of construction arbitrations and court cases has reduced by around a third in recent years as a result of the combined effects of the CPR on court disputes. , adjudication and mediation. This is mainly due to the obvious attractions of relatively low costs and high speed.