RC125 JulyAug 2026 - Magazine - Page 29
GERARDO PESANTEZ / WORLD BANK
The neutral concept itself is not new. Dispute review boards have been used in major international infrastructure projects for decades, including FIDIC-form
contracts and World Bank-funded projects, with success on tunnels, dams, and large transportation projects.
practical to 昀椀nish the work and preserve the dispute
over value rather than create a broader dispute over
completion, delay, and responsibility.
Many construction disputes could be resolved faster—
improving project outcomes and reducing the time and
money they waste—if a dispute resolution mechanism
were invoked in real time and completed within days or
weeks. That’s where standing project neutrals come in.
They’re not designed to replace mediation, arbitration,
litigation, or adjudication. They instead operate at an earlier
stage, bringing independent judgment to disputes before
positions fortify, claims become institutionalized, and the
dispute resolution process itself ends up costing more than
the issue at stake. Even mediation typically still requires each
side to retain its own advocate to argue its position to the
mediator, which can be costly and slow-moving.
RENEWCANADA.NET
The role of standing neutrals
Standing neutrals are built into a project’s structure from the
outset, either as one person or as a small body with legal,
technical, or mixed expertise. They serve as an “on call” dispute resolution tool, available while a project is active rather
than only after a dispute escalates to the point of disruption.
They are involved in the job even when there is no active
dispute. They stay familiar with project correspondence,
drawings, monthly reports, schedule updates, change orders,
and the issues developing on the job site.
It’s worth distinguishing among the varied forms of
standing neutrals. A dispute review board typically issues
nonbinding recommendations parties may adopt or set
aside. A dispute adjudication board typically issues interim
binding decisions that govern the parties’ conduct until any
subsequent challenge. A standing neutral or expert may sit
JULY/AUGUST 2026 – RENEW CANADA 29
