JEDDAH: More than 500 Saudi engineers will gather at the Jeddah Hilton today for the third conference on engineering arbitration organized by the Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE).
The conference will discuss a number of issues, including methods of arbitration, hurdles impeding the efficacy of engineering arbitration and the role of technical experts in arbitration.
Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Majed will open the conference. There are more than 18,000 Saudi and foreign engineers working in the Kingdom.
The SCE is an autonomous vocational authority under the Ministry of Commerce.
A total of 51 arbitrary cases were referred to the SCE, which were considered by 277 arbitrators. The council has so far organized nine training programs and three conventions on engineering arbitration.
SCE Chairman Abdul Rahman Al-Rabeeah said the council comprises a committee specializing in engineering arbitration. The committee consists of experts and specialists who follow local and international standards. He added the experts are involved in cases of arbitration and disputes between companies in Saudi courts.
Al-Rabeeah said the conference would shed light on new developments in the field of arbitration especially at this juncture when the Kingdom is witnessing a giant leap in development and construction projects. “This entails giving more attention to engineering arbitration and revision of its rules and regulations with a view to coping with future challenges,” he said.
SCE Secretary-General Saleh Al-Amr, chairman of the organizing committee, said the conference would study the present status quo of engineering arbitration in the Kingdom, highlight its importance in resolving disputes and propose new mechanisms to expand its application.
“The conference will consider five issues: Methods and means of arbitration, mechanisms of resolving hurdles, the role of technical experts in arbitration, a comparative study of some cases related engineering arbitration and its application from a Shariah point of view,” he said.
Al-Amr said a workshop on preparing reports on disputes will concurrently be held with the conference.
Director of the SCE in Makkah province Adil Abid Taher said the conference was part of a strategy adopted by the council to upgrade the level of engineering education to meet the requirement of the labor market.
He also said the SCE was endeavoring to ensure the effective participation of Saudi engineers and engineering companies in public and private projects and was also trying to establish a real partnership between Saudi and foreign engineering companies.
