Commercial Arbitration and Dispute Management in Construction Project

건설공사의 분쟁관리와 상사중재

The resolution of the 1993 Uruguay Round and the opening of Korea's construction market in '97 marked the beginning of the globalization of Korea's domestic construction market. Consequently, the process led to changes in contracting procedures, as well as disputes in construction management. With globalization came a rapid realization of reasonable values, which forced the hierarchical vertical relationship between the owners, constructors, and subcontractors into a more equal, horizontal relationship. Once the hierarchical relationship was altered, the late 1990's witnessed a dramatic increase in managerial disagreements, in addition to escalating legal disputes and expenditures. The horizontal relationship was a new concept and brought forth many complexities. Unfortunately, because all of this was new, management of construction disputes was elementary at best. Anticipation of disputes is the key to effective dispute management. This includes thorough reviews of contract documents, document management, construction records, and checklists. Also necessary is the education of owners and contractors with pertinent knowledge concerning dispute management. The following paper focuses on the importance of observing construction disputes in order to facilitate management thereof.