Arbitration as an mechanism for dispute resolution in construction industry of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Dispute resolution systems change with the interaction. There is a necessity of reviewing and improving of the arbitration practice periodically in order to minimize the cost and complexity of the process. This research is a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative study to assess significance factors and effectiveness of arbitration in Construction industry of Sri Lanka. Many parties to construction contracts have no more interest to go for arbitration. Therefore professionals should take collective measures to increase the effectiveness of arbitration. Literature review for research was done together with the preliminary survey. Further questionnaire survey among 36 professionals and semi structured interviews with 5 arbitrators were used for the data collection. The findings of this study indicate that the professionals involved in the construction industry have low level of satisfaction on the current practice of arbitration; however, they believe that arbitration is an effective mechanism for dispute resolution and should survive as an ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) method in the construction industry. The results of this study enable researchers to gain a deep understanding on the current arbitration practice and recognize significance of each advantages, drawbacks and suggestions for the development of arbitration in the construction industry of Sri Lanka. This research is limited to the arbitration practice in the construction industry of Sri Lanka and the sample for the data collection was selected only from leading clients, contractors and consultant organizations.