DRS will now be working more closely with the SRB, reflecting the regulatory role that DRS plays in enabling members to provide cost-effective access to justice for the public when acting as dispute resolvers and party representatives.
Despite the worldwide economic challenges, DRS has continued its work as the UK’s leading appointing authority for arbitrators, adjudicators, mediators and independent experts in the built environment.
- Commercial property disputes have fallen 20% since before the pandemic.
- Construction adjudication remains busy, with DRS making over 70% of UK nominations.
In India, working with the judiciary and leading industry stakeholders, we have created the Construction and Infrastructure Arbitration Panel, which is launching in autumn 2022. We trained 24 senior RICS members as fully qualified arbitrators; they have been joined by 15 judges from the Indian High Court and a dozen leading UK construction arbitrators, creating a formidable force in the fast-developing world of commercial arbitration on the subcontinent.
In Canada, we have worked with sister alternative dispute resolution (ADR) bodies to train panels of construction adjudicators in Saskatchewan and Alberta for the expected federal adjudication system. We have also done the groundwork for appointing a statutory adjudicator-nominating authority in Alberta, home of most of Canada’s oil and gas industry.
In Australia, we have initiated a review of the adjudication service, which is ongoing.
In the UK, we have:
Launched three new services for compulsory purchase order, telecoms and commercial rent arrears arbitration.
Trained approximately 400 dispute resolvers and expert witnesses across the ADR disciplines.
Continued to lead the way with the development of conflict-avoidance services, receiving widespread government and industry recognition, with over 400 major organisations having now signed the CAP Pledge.
