Claims & Consultation
Preparing the claim is half the work.
Under FIDIC, a claim is not won when it is submitted. It is tested — in the Engineer's Sub-Clause 3.5 consultation, before the determination. I prepare the fully detailed claim, then represent the Contractor in that consultation: arguing the clause characterisation, holding the record straight, and keeping the position intact through to determination and, where it comes to it, Clause 20 and the DAB.
How a claim is carried
01
Notice, in time
The Sub-Clause 20.1 notice served within the time bar — because the strongest claim is worthless if it is time-barred at the gate.
02
Fully detailed claim
Narrative and quantum built together — the contractual entitlement, the contemporaneous record, and the money, aligned.
03
Consultation with the Engineer
Representing the Contractor across the table in the Sub-Clause 3.5 consultation, before the Engineer's determination — arguing the clause, not just the facts.
04
Minutes discipline
The Engineer's first draft of the minutes is not the record of what was agreed. Each draft is checked line by line and corrected before signature.
05
Determination & beyond
Positions maintained as submitted and all rights reserved — with Clause 20 / DAB readiness kept live in case the determination does not follow.
Across the table from the Engineer
Claims carried through consultation
A selection from a nine-claim series consulted with the Engineer under Sub-Clause 3.5 ahead of determination — around USD 136M in aggregate. Anonymised, with indicative figures.
Extension of Time & Prolongation
≈ USD 106MFIDIC 8.4 / 20.1
A fully detailed extension-of-time claim with prolongation cost on a major railway package — critical-path delay analysis tied to time-related cost, and carried into consultation with the Engineer.
Change in Legislation
≈ USD 18.8MFIDIC 13.7 / 20.1
A change in the official interpretation of a statutory levy exemption. The consultation narrowed to a single question — whether the levy had ever been priced into the tender — argued from the price build-up (13.8 “deemed inclusion” versus 13.7).
Disruption
≈ USD 7.2MFIDIC 20.1
Twenty-one discrete disruption events valued as lost productivity, with the measured-mile method applied event by event rather than as a single global figure.
Force Majeure
≈ USD 2.0MFIDIC 19.4 / 20.1
A cost claim arising from civil unrest and government-imposed security restrictions. The issue reduced to clause characterisation — prevention and Employer's-risk under Clause 19 against the narrower 17.4 gateway.
Cost of Maintaining Securities
≈ USD 0.4MFIDIC 4.2 / 20.1
The cost of holding performance securities open where the corresponding certificates were not issued, or the securities not released, on time — a small head of claim, but one that is routinely conceded away if it is not pursued.
Examples are anonymised and figures are indicative. Client, project, contract and correspondence details are withheld for confidentiality.
Have a claim heading for determination?
If a claim is approaching the Engineer's consultation or determination, a second pair of eyes on the clause and the record is rarely wasted.