The Construction Development Board has adopted an Alternative Dispute Resolution for construction-related industry. The “out of court settlement“ was take up in order to relieve the courts from congestion as well as prevent the undue cost and delay of dispute resolutions.
Parties with disputes could take up any of the Four alternatives; Mediation, Arbitration, Negotiation and Conciliation, without going to the court. The alternatives were identified by the Bhutan National Legal Institute in collaboration with the Construction Development Board. The Construction Development Board has so far seen 50 cases of disputes since 2007, of which 26 has been arbitrated.
“All the disputes are related to construction industry,” said the Construction Development Board’s Director, Rinzin Dorji. He said the grievances are usually from contractors and procuring agencies. “It’s, most of the time, related to imposition of liquidity damages and not taking into consideration the hindrances at site, the payment of bills, and not receiving bills on time.”
However, for the Construction Development Board to arbitrate a dispute, both parties should agree for arbitration. The alternative dispute resolution is not only considered faster and cheaper but flexible and responsive to the needs of the parties.
In any case, if either of the party is not satisfied with the resolution passed through arbitration, the party can then take the matter to the court.
The construction development board members and other officials involved in dispute resolution are being trained by the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement.
The training is to enhance the arbitration and mediation skills of the participants. The Arbitration Act of Bhutan was enacted last year by the parliament, particularly for the Foreign Direct Investment.
