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FIDIC Seminars for Practitioners

Under a FIDIC contract the Engineer shall make fair determinations (see Sub-Clause 3.5 and 14.6). Talking about Engineer´s fairness means to demystify its role, and yes we are talking about its role not its character or personality. The Engineer´s role is not god-given. The parties could live without the Engineer´s powers and authorities; whether they would then have less problems or whether this would be more appropriate is however questionable. Anyway its role and function does not merely depend on his integrity, skills and honesty. Under a FIDIC contract the parties rather define a role or function of a person, in FIDIC this being the Engineer, who shall determine matters arising out of or in connection with the contract. He shall do so fairly but not as an adjudicator.

Nestor Bildungsinstitut together with FIDIC have decided to provide FIDIC seminars in English. The seminars shall cover the well known FIDIC modules, e.g. modules 1 to 3. However these modules are mainly adressed to Civil Law Practitioners using FIDIC forms of Contract and Common Law practitioners who work under Civil Law conditions. The seminars cover the FIDIC Rainbow Edition 1999 namenly the FIDIC Red Book, the FIDIC Yellow Book and the FIDIC Silver Book. The venue for all seminars is Copenhagen.

FIDIC forms of Contract may be used for all types of projects throughout the world. The answer to the question which form is suitable for a particular project depends on whether the Employer intents to bear the design responsiblity or not. If the Employer decides that the design shall be amde by himself or its behalf the FIDIC Red Book is appropriate. If the Employer prefers that the design is with the Contractor then either the FIDIC Yellow Book or the Silver Book can be chosen. This decision should be taken with skill and care after having made a risk assessment.

The current trainers

Dipl.-Ing., Dipl.-Wirt.Ing. Axel Volkmar Jager

Axel Jaeger is the former past chairman of the FIDIC Contracts Committee and former past member of the FIDIC Executive Committee. Axel Jaeger was involved in the drafting of the FIDIC Orange Book, the 1999 FIDIC Rainbow Edition as well as in the FIDIC Gold Book. He is currently a special senior advisor of the FIDIC Contracts Committee. He has extensive international project experience gained worldwide. He is a co-author of the book FIDIC for Practitioners and member of the German Dispute Adjudication Assessment Panel.

Rechtsanwalt Dr. Götz-Sebastian Hök

Sebastian Hök is graduated in Law from Göttingen University and is a German solictor registered at the Berlin Bar.  He has extensive international project and commercial experience gained while living and working in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. For the past 20 years he has been partner and senoir partner of the law firm Dr. Hök, Stieglmeier & Kollegen. Sebastian Hök is acting as arbitrator, adjudicator and legal counsel. He is also a licensed and accredited FIDIC trainer. Since 1997 he is a lecturer at Berlin University of Applied Science for construction management law. Since 2009 he is a FIDIC listed Dispute Adjudicator. Sebastian Hök has written various books and articles in French, English and German on FIDIC forms of contract. He is a co-author of the book FIDIC for Practitioners and member of the German Dispute Adjudication Assessment Panel and former past Chairman of Eurojuris Commission International Litigation. He his currently involved in two FIDIC task groups as legal advisor.

The courses

Copenhagen has been chosen for being the venue for three different FIDIC trainings. Module 1 covers a general introduction in the FIDIC Rainbow Edition 1999. Module 2 covers FIDIC claims´ and disputes´ management. Module 3 covers Dispute Adjudication. All three courses will be held once a year.

A particular core aspect of these courses is to explain the legal wording against its commmon law background for further use in civil law jurisdictions, such as Eastern Europe or the Gulf Region. it is crucial to understand the meaning of the terms such as Claim, Defects Notification period, Delay Damages and Extension of Time for Completion against its common law back ground though the Contract will be used under civil law as per Sub-Clause 1.4 FIDIC.

All courses will refer to existing ICC awards and other case law for illustration purposes. Case Studies and examples as well as standard letters for further use will be presented.

The course system has been a great success in 2011 and will be continued in 2012.

Module 1

The training course is designed to provide practical guidance to those who are involved in managing or administration of projects where use of FIDIC forms of Contract is intended. The course covers management disciplines and procedures in pre-contract phase of the project including the FIDIC Client-Consultant Service Agreement and selection of the appropriate FIDIC form of Contract. The course also covers the post contract award phase including all contract managment disciplines & dispute managment procedures.

It is suitable for all the Parties involved with a new FIDIC Contract – the Employer, the Project Manager, the Contractor, the Engineer, and the DAB Members. By having a good understanding of the FIDIC risk allocation policy and the resulting responsibilities and rights of the Parties under a 1999 FIDIC Contracts, a more efficient management of the project may be achieved. The tutors of the course are a very experienced German engineer and a German lawyer, who both have had extensive worldwide involvement with management of projects and related dispute resolution. Both tutors are the authors of the FIDIC Guide for practitioners.

Module 2

The training course is designed to provide practical guidance to those who are involved in managing or administration of projects where use of FIDIC forms of contracts is required. This course covers FIDIC contract management, claim management and dispute management in more depth than module 1.

This course goes through the claims´ procedures and claims including the change clause. It covers CPM issues, delay analysis and Engineer´s views will be discussed. Finally the course will show how a DAB works and explain typical situations in dispute preparation and resolution.

It is suitable for all the Parties involved with a new FIDIC Contract – the Employer, the Project Manager, the Contractor, the Engineer, and the DAB Members. By having a good understanding of the FIDIC contract and claim management approach and the resulting responsibilities and rights of the Parties under a 1999 FIDIC Contracts, a more efficient management of the project may be achieved. The tutors of the course are a very experienced German engineer and a German lawyer, who both have had extensive worldwide involvement with management of projects and related dispute resolution.

Module 3

The training course is designed to provide practical guidance to those who are involved in dispute resolution where use of FIDIC forms of contracts is required. This course covers inter alia the use of FIDIC Dispute Adjudication Boards, appointment of DAB´s, referrals to DAB, the decision making process, etc. in more depth than module 2.

This course will give a sophisticated view on Dispute Resolution practise under FIDIC Contracts. The course intends to explain dispute avoidance practises and problems as well as the appointment of DABs, preparation of referrals, conduct of hearings and decision making.

It is suitable for all the Parties involved with a FIDIC Contract (1999 edition) – the Employer, the Project Manager, the Contractor, the Engineer, and the DAB Members. By having a good understanding of the FIDIC contract and its dispute adjudication clauses under a 1999 FIDIC Contracts, a more efficient and successful dispute management may be achieved. The tutors of the course are a German engineer and a German lawyer, who both have had extensive worldwide involvement and experience with management of projects and related dispute resolution. Both have been appointed in various dispute resolution procedures and have advised clients on this type of proceedings throughout the world.

Training Materials

The training materials include powerpoint slides and scripts for in depth studies. All materials are regularly updated and reflect current knowledge of practise in various countries including references to local case law.