FIDICDAABDispute Resolution

What Is a DAAB under FIDIC Contracts — and Why Your Project Needs One

3 July 2026 Bridge Consult

The Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board resolves disagreements right on the construction site without stopping the project. We break down how it works under FIDIC 2017, what it costs, and why development banks require it in major contracts.

On a major infrastructure project, disagreements between the employer and the contractor are not an exception — they are a statistical norm: scope changes, approval delays, unforeseen ground conditions. The real question is not whether a dispute will arise, but how much it will cost and whether it will stop the works. That is exactly what the DAAB exists for in FIDIC contracts.

DAAB meaning (full form): Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board — an independent panel of one or three experts under Clause 21 of the FIDIC 2017 contracts. It helps the parties avoid disputes and, if one arises, issues a binding decision within 84 days.

What is a DAAB

The DAAB (Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board) is a panel of one or three independent experts appointed by the parties — normally at the very start of the project — who stay with it until completion. In the FIDIC 2017 editions the mechanism is governed by Clause 21 of the Conditions of Contract.

The key difference from arbitration: the DAAB works inside the project, in real time. Board members visit the site regularly, know the construction history first-hand, and can issue a decision in weeks rather than years.

How it works

A standing DAAB is appointed from the start of the contract and serves until its completion — the default under the 2017 editions.
Dispute avoidance: at the joint request of the parties, the board provides informal assistance to resolve a disagreement before it crystallises into a dispute (Sub-Clause 21.3). This is the most underrated function of the mechanism.
Adjudication: if a dispute is referred to the DAAB, the board must issue a reasoned decision within 84 days (Sub-Clause 21.4). The decision is immediately binding on both parties, even if one of them disagrees with it.
A dissatisfied party must serve a Notice of Dissatisfaction (NOD) within 28 days — only then can the dispute proceed to international arbitration.

DAAB members and the DAAB Agreement

Under FIDIC 2017 the DAAB has one or three members, as stated in the Contract Data. For a three-member board, each party nominates one member for the other party’s agreement; the parties then consult both members and agree on the third, who acts as chairperson (Sub-Clause 21.1).

Members must be independent of both parties and experienced in the type of works and in interpreting contract documents. Each member signs a DAAB Agreement with the Employer and the Contractor — a tripartite agreement based on the General Conditions of DAAB Agreement annexed to the FIDIC 2017 forms. The members’ fees are shared equally by the parties.

DAAB vs DAB

The FIDIC 1999 editions used a DAB (Dispute Adjudication Board): standing under the Red Book, ad hoc — appointed only once a dispute had arisen — under the Yellow and Silver Books. The 2017 editions renamed it the DAAB, added the dispute-avoidance function and made the board standing under all three books.

What it costs

Typical costs of a standing DAAB amount to fractions of a percent of the contract value. For comparison: an international construction arbitration easily exceeds a million dollars in legal and expert fees alone and takes two to four years on average. DRBF statistics worldwide show that on projects with an active dispute board, the vast majority of disagreements never reach arbitration at all.

Why this matters in Uzbekistan

International financial institutions — ADB, the World Bank, EBRD — finance dozens of infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan, and their standard bidding documents include a dispute board as a mandatory element. For contractors and employers alike this means one thing: knowing how to work with a DAAB properly — from appointing its members to presenting your case — directly affects the financial outcome of the project.

Frequently asked questions

What does DAAB stand for?

Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board. Under the FIDIC 1999 editions the equivalent body was called the DAB (Dispute Adjudication Board).

How many members does a DAAB have?

One or three, as stated in the Contract Data. With three members, each party nominates one and the chairperson is agreed jointly.

Is a DAAB decision binding?

Yes, immediately — the parties must comply with it even while one of them disagrees. If neither party serves a Notice of Dissatisfaction within 28 days, the decision becomes final and binding.

How long does the DAAB have to decide?

84 days from receiving the referral, unless the parties agree a different period proposed by the DAAB.

Who pays for the DAAB?

The members’ fees are agreed when they are appointed and shared equally by the Employer and the Contractor.

How Bridge Consult can help

Bridge Consult founder Larissa Belousova is an ADB Accredited Contract Management and Dispute Avoidance Specialist, a DRBF Dispute Board Practitioner and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb). We support parties at every stage: drafting DAAB provisions, appointing the board, preparing referrals and presenting the case, enforcing and challenging decisions.