Following the success of our sold-out Autumn and Spring FIDIC Contracts Seminars Series, Howard Kennedy’s International Construction team, in collaboration with Cornerstone Seminars, is pleased to announce a brand new FIDIC Contracts Claims Masterclass, a four half-day online workshop taking place at 09:00-12:30 GMT each morning of Monday 7 – Thursday 10 December 2026.

This masterclass will provide a focused and practical examination of how claims are made, managed, and defended under the FIDIC forms of contract. The programme is intended for professionals who already work with FIDIC contracts and are looking to sharpen their claims strategy, deepen their understanding of risk management, and enhance their dispute-readiness. The masterclass will include expert-led sessions and practical workshops, covering the following topics:

• FIDIC claims strategy;
• Risk allocation;
• Notices;
• Variations;
• Delay and quantum;
• Geology;
• Force majeure;
• Employer claims;
• Termination; and
• Dispute avoidance.

The event will be hosted online, with members of the firm’s International Construction team and invited delay and quantum experts involved throughout the week in presenting sessions and facilitating discussion.

The masterclass costs £500 + VAT per delegate.

To book or for further information, please click here.

Programme Overview

Claims Foundations, Variations and Delay

Introduction to Claims under FIDIC

• Risk and its allocation
• Risk transfer and its limitations
• Distinguishing between “claims” and “disputes”

Notices and Determinations

• Time‑barring provisions
• Discretion, waiver and compliance
• Forms and timing of notices
• Determinations and applicable timeframes

Variations and Valuation

• What constitutes a Variation
• Cardinal change
• Limits on the Engineer’s power to vary
• Disputed Variations
• Valuation under the Red Book and Yellow/Silver Books, including a brief introduction to prolongation and disruption

Workshop:

Dispute arising from a Variation – validity, notice compliance and valuation

Delay Claims

• Burden of proof for extensions of time
• Time at large
• Acceleration (express and constructive)
• Concurrency
• Delay damages and limits to exclusive remedies

Delay Analysis (led by a delay expert)

• Prospective vs retrospective analysis
• Common critical path methods and their pitfalls
• How delay analyses are tested and challenged in disputes

Extended Workshop:

Dispute over an EOT claim involving shifting critical paths and external commissioning issues

Ground Risk, Quantum, Termination and Dispute Resolution

Geology and Force Majeure

• Unforeseen ground condition claims
• Geotechnical Baseline Reports (GBRs)
• Force majeure and prevention

Prolongation Cost and Disruption (led by a quantum expert)

• Bases of claim for different types of employer risk events, including Variations
• Proof of cost, cost‑plus claims, valuation and damages
• Acceleration and disruption claims

Employer Claims

• Defects in contractor design and workmanship
• Design Non‑Performance and related doctrines
• Duty to mitigate
• Design claims and fitness for purpose
• Bonds and retentions

Workshop:

Bad design or bad work?

Termination

• Contractual grounds for termination
• Additional grounds and limits under general law
• Post‑termination procedures and financial claims
• Limitations of liability

Dispute Prevention and Resolution

• Mandatory DAABs under FIDIC
• The role of the DAAB in dispute prevention and decision‑making
• Enforcement of DAAB decisions
• Arbitration

Extended Workshop:

DAAB hearing following termination

 

We would be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding these seminars. Please feel free to contact us at info@cornerstoneseminars.com, joanne.clarke@howardkennedy.com, or victoria.tyson@howardkennedy.com.