We share the letter to the editor written by our arbitration director, Josefa Larraín, regarding the Diario Financiero report.
Mr. Director:
Following the report by your media that analyzes the increase in arbitration conflicts in construction and in the real estate sector, we must distinguish two issues.
A couple of decades ago, arbitration clauses began to be incorporated into these contracts, these contracts being long-term conventions. It has only been a few years since we have observed how this conflict is transferred to the arbitration courts.
On the other hand, the increase in conflict in these areas is due to the fact that the owners or clients of the works do not carry out adequate contractual control or “claim management”, unlike the contractors, who receive advice during the execution of the work.
Thus, as lawyers, it is common to receive a request for advice from our clients, owners of the works, when the conflict has already started or even when the arbitration request has already been notified.
The above implies that the owner of the work is unaware of the conflict that lies under his contract. On the contrary, if they operated with greater prevention, the owners of the works would not only be aware of their weaknesses, but they would have the necessary documentation and would remain in contact with witnesses or key employees of the conflict. In this way, the requests or claims of your contractors could be contained in time and thus avoid the costs and wear and tear of arbitrations.
Josefa Larraín Errázuriz, Director of Arbitrations az.
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