Certificate Programme

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The Faculty of Law of Istanbul Bilgi University and Schellenberg Wittmer are organising a yearly Certificate Course for construction professionals, legal practitioners and of course students. The course is generally an intensive six-day, 24-hour immersion in practical and legal issues relating to international construction projects, including dispute resolution. An Additional Module will take place on the sixth day of the programme.

Currently the theme of the course is "International Construction Contracts and Dispute Resolution – The Example of the FIDIC Conditions of Contract". The nature of large-scale, international construction projects has resulted in international construction contracts having particular features that differentiate them from other commercial contracts. Standard forms of contract such as those issued by FIDIC have developed which reflect best practices in the construction industry. Along with these forms of contract, the construction industry has favoured special methods of resolving the disputes arising out of a construction project.

The six-day course is divided into three main parts. The first part of the course explores the nuts and bolts of international construction contracts. It begins by looking at the various entities involved in an international construction project and how a typical construction project progresses from start to finish. The course will also briefly look at selected ways of structuring construction contracts, as well as certain issues showing how the law governing the contract can have implications on a construction project. The first part of the course then looks at standard form international construction contracts and examines the most widely used standard form – the FIDIC Conditions of Contract.

The second part of the course provides an overview of the dispute resolution methods adapted to international construction contracts. In particular, this part of the course begins by examining the procedure for resolving disputes under the FIDIC Conditions of Contract. This part of the course aims to provide background that is necessary for the understanding of the dispute-resolution side to the third part of the course.

The third and longest part of the course will cover a set of selected issues that typically arise in international construction projects. For each selected issue, the course provides an overview of the main sub-issues involved, examines certain practical matters and describes how they are regulated in the FIDIC Conditions of Contract. The selected issues are: time and delays; price, payment and variations; defects; and termination of the contract.

The sixth day of the course includes role-play in relation to a mock case that is made available among the course materials at the outset. Participants will be divided into groups: two groups "advocate" the positions of the parties, whilst another group acts as "dispute-resolvers". This enables all participants to test their acquisition of the course fundamentals and concludes the course on an extremely lively note.

On the last day of the programme, Country Representatives of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF) will lead a DRBF Mock Case study.

The program will take place on 20-21-22-23-24 May 2024 from 4 pm to 8 pm (Istanbul time) and on 25 May 2024 from 10 am to 5 pm (Istanbul time) at Santral campus.

Note: Programme will be conducted in English and translation will not be available.

 

Program Fee: TL 6,000 | For students who do not take the course LAW 324; trainee lawyers and academics: TL 2,000 | For LL.M. and PhD students of Istanbul Bilgi University: TL 4,000 | For registrations of 3 or more participants: TL 4,000 per participant (Participants benefiting from trainee lawyer/ academic/student discount are not eligible for group discount.)

For more information: 0212 311 6766