The Bahrain practice of international law firm Trowers and Hamlins, has hosted the first in a series of seminars at its offices in the Bahrain World Trade Centre.

International construction and dispute resolution team members Robert Horne and Paula Boast delivered a presentation entitled 'Old dogs, new tricks: Claims under FIDIC (International Federation of Consulting Engineers) contracts' to a gathering of business representatives and ministry officials.

Designed to address topical issues relevant to its clients from the real estate and development sectors, the seminar explored the procedural mechanisms to bringing claims under FIDIC contracts, the substantiation required for successful claims and the engineer's key role in making determinations on those claims.

During the presentation, the speakers recommended focusing on practical steps to allow for proper record keeping and early determination of claims with a view to avoiding claims escalating into formal disputes.

'Unexpected situations are a feature of every construction project, and none more so than in the current economic climate.

'Delays and additional costs can result from these situations leading to claims by the employer against the contractor, and likewise by the contractor against the employer. The key is efficient and effective claims management,' said Boast.

'The recurring theme that came out of our discussions during the seminar was 'how can we deal with claims more efficiently?'.

'What is clear is that the claims that we are seeing emerge from Bahrain projects are becoming more frequent and more complex as the difficult economic situation continues,' Horne said.

Trowers and Hamlins' seminar series will focus on a variety of topics. The next seminar, focusing on the subject of information technology, was due to take place yesterday but has now been postponed until March 1.-TradeArabia News Service