Resolving disputes is almost invariably expensive, in terms of legal costs, award or settlement costs, lost management time, opportunity loss and deterioration of relationships.

Our procedures provide an opportunity, early in the life of a contract, to avoid disputes — prior to positions becoming entrenched and liabilities and costs mounting.

Even the best negotiators and draftsmen cannot foresee all eventualities that may occur during the implementation of a contract. Often, when a contract is about to be applied to facts on the ground, uncertainties as to its interpretation arise. Where there are uncertainties, even seasoned lawyers (and indeed Supreme Court Justices) may disagree on the correct interpretation. Once the implementation of a contract has started, money will have been spent and potential liabilities start mounting. If a disagreement on the interpretation of a contract arises some way into the implementation stage, the parties are in effect already in a dispute phase. The CDA dispute avoidance procedures give the parties an opportunity to avoid entering that dispute phase.

Our procedures are designed to ring fence potential areas of dispute that arise out of parties’ different interpretations of a contract, and resolve them before they turn into disputes; however they are not traditional alternative dispute resolution procedures. 

In a sense, our procedures can constitute a fine-tuning of negotiations, but with the benefit of the parties being more attuned to the practical implications of implementing an already executed contract. The procedures can offer a degree of peace of mind — provisions that may have been left with a degree of uncertainty at contract signing can be resolved in a finite process without resorting to further unlimited negotiations (and potential concessions) or to dispute resolution or litigation.

Our procedures offer a fast, cost effective, and binding tool for significantly reducing the risk of disputes arising or escalating. 

To use our procedures, enquire about becoming a member of the CDA.