RICS celebrates 40 years of Dispute Resolution Service

RICS marked 40 years of providing Alternative Dispute Resolution services to the global built environment last month with a celebratory dinner for MENA stakeholders at The Ritz-Carlton in DIFC.  With dispute practitioners and representatives of dispute resolution institutions, surveying and law firms from across the region in attendance, the evening provided an opportunity to review past successes and focus on plans for the service in the years ahead.

DRS began in 1976, focused solely on disputes in the property rental sector in the UK, and is now the largest built environment-specific Dispute Resolution and Avoidance service provider in the world.    The service acts in the public interest in 19 countries by offering a range of alternative dispute resolution training and advisory services, including accredited panels of accredited dispute resolution practitioners in the built environment: providing a professional, independent, and quality assured appointment system to stakeholders.

“The Middle East has led the way in the development of DRS globally, and it was an obvious choice to host our anniversary celebration. We have had great support from government, institutions, industry and dispute practitioners in the region who recognise the benefits of using an independent and impartial service provider, and the evening was a great opportunity to thank them for their support and look to significant developments in the future,” commented Dr. John Fletcher, RICS global director of Dispute Resolution.

Rob Jackson, director, RICS Middle East & North Africa said, “Settling disputes in land, property and construction is part of what surveyors have done since Victorian times. RICS consolidated its ADR services 40 years ago with the creation of DRS, and in the last decade has seen massive growth around the world of its reach and influence in built environment dispute resolution sector. The Middle East has led the way in this development and we are delighted to have been able to host this milestone event in Dubai.”

RICS is exploring a number of significant opportunities for dispute resolution services in the Middle East and is engaged in dialogue with many key influencers and government entities concerning construction arbitration, embedding evaluative mediation into arbitration, expert witness accreditation and adjudication.