Case law
Raad van Arbitrage in bouwgeschillen
The Netherlands Arbitration Institute for the Building Industry is an independent foundation that has been deciding construction disputes since 1907. This is arbitration, not state adjudication: a panel of arbitrators with technical and legal expertise renders an arbitral award. Alongside ordinary proceedings the institute offers expedited proceedings, summary relief, fast-track procedures, urgent site inspections, expert reports and mediation. All awards are published in anonymised form in a searchable register.
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What this source does not give you
The institute can only hear a dispute if the parties have agreed it is competent, for instance through an arbitration clause in the construction contract, the applicable general conditions or a home-warranty scheme. Without such a clause the ordinary courts have jurisdiction. In published awards the parties are anonymised; only the names of those professionally involved, such as counsel and experts, remain visible.
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Frequently asked questions
- When does the arbitration institute have jurisdiction?
- Only on the basis of an agreement between the parties. In construction that agreement is often already embedded in the applicable general conditions or in a home-warranty scheme, but it must exist. Absent an arbitration agreement, the dispute goes to the ordinary courts and the institute cannot rule on it.
- Can an award of the institute be appealed?
- In principle any party may appeal to the institute itself against an award rendered at first instance. The deadline is three months from the date of the award; for disputes under the UAR rules and in expedited proceedings it is one month. The institute applies those deadlines strictly. Appeals are heard by arbitrators other than those who decided at first instance, with at least three arbitrators and a lawyer as chair. No appeal lies where the award would not have been appealable had it been given by an ordinary court.
- Does the institute publish all its awards?
- Yes. The institute publishes all awards in anonymised form in a searchable register, following the Dutch judiciary's pseudonymisation guideline. The parties are therefore not identifiable, but the names of those professionally involved in the case, such as counsel and experts, are not anonymised.
- What procedures does the institute offer besides ordinary proceedings?
- Alongside ordinary proceedings the institute offers expedited proceedings, summary relief, fast-track light and plus procedures, urgent site inspections, its own expert reports, mediation and an advisory board of experts. Which route reaches a decision fastest depends on the nature of the dispute and on what the parties agreed.