Alfadhli, A (2013) Does the alternative dispute resolution have a role to play in the construction industry in the State of Kuwait?: look into the most appropriate methodology that may be taken in Kuwait in comparison with what are available in the English legal system. PhD thesis, University of Southampton, UK.
Abstract
Spending almost two decades of experience with one of the largest oil and gas production company in the Middle East namely “Kuwait Oil Company” as a Team Leader and Senior Counsel for the Projects and Claims Team under Legal Affairs Department has undoubtedly inspired me the notion the essence of this thesis alongside with that sort of eagerness to research in quest for the knowledge which man has always and still run after but the least nevertheless only acquired! Before I join the company in late eighties, and on my graduation I found myself in cross roads, become a lecturer and embark on the academic career and satisfy my desire for research or fight my way in the legal profession as practitioner? I walked the second route in the hope of gaining the legal experience with the thought of grapping the research route in a later stage in which I now do enjoy and live. Working with KOC, I have been involved up to teeth in different areas of law since a project documents is governed and regulated not only by contract law but commercial law, companies law, patent law, labour law, construction law and tax law are also incorporated. The dispute resolution methods are addressed as well since local litigation is the main method and international adjudication, mediation and arbitration are exceptional but used and applied in particular on LSTK, EPC, EPF and Technical Service Agreements TSAs. Negotiation rounds which were entered with international oil companies on new projects and contracts gained me skills and exceptional knowledge in applying law and practice as well as sharing expertise not only in law function but in commercial and technical angles of the project bearing in mind the diversified expertise representing all aspects of business and the approaches followed to successfully accomplish a project. In the thesis, I’ve opted to deal with the elements of dispute resolution in the construction industry on the international scale and on the local or national level choosing State of Kuwait’s legal system and enhancing the research with the practical work experience in the Kuwait Oil Company extending seven chapters for this aim. I fully hope with my humble efforts exerted in this thesis that something valuable is added to the endless and depthless ocean of legal knowledge. In addition to the introductory section, the analysis of the thesis subject will be split into and developed through seven parts. Chapter one will define the construction contract, the field of the study subject, which will be followed by the mechanism of formation of the contract subject matter in chapter two. Then, the next four chapters, the means of the most common alternative dispute resolution; namely arbitration, adjudication, expert determination and mediation will be examined respectively. Chapter seven will mainly focus on the evaluation of the Kuwaiti national oil producer (Kuwait Oil Company “KOC”) as a case study and eventually will come up with the recommendations. Then, the mission of the thesis would reach the Conclusion being the final destination of its journey.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Merkin, R |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | adjudication; arbitration; case study; construction law; contract law; dispute resolution; Kuwait; litigation; mediation; negotiation |
| Index terms: | profession, construction contract, oil and gas, resolution, construction industry, agreements, arbitration, negotiation, labour law, contract law, adjudication, case study, dispute, construction law, litigation, Kuwait, career, methodology, practitioner, documents, alternative dispute resolution, Middle East, mediation |
| Subjects: | Geography, contract management, physical geography and landforms, research methods, practitioner, institututions, contract type, employment law, professional development, contract law, industry analysis, construction law, conflict resolution, dispute resolution, data collection methods, contract formation |
| Topics: | Contract Administration, Research Practice, Information Management, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Legal Issues, Geographical Context, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here