Claim Management& Arbitration,defending contractual interests.

§ 01Twofold positioning

On one side, the factual treatment of claims: contractual, technical, chronological and financial analysis, rigorously, without emotional angle, without gratuitous escalation. On the other, the preference for amicable settlement: our aim is not to win at any cost, but to reach a fair and fast settlement that preserves the client's commercial relationship when possible, and defends their interests without compromise when necessary.

§ 02Contractual frameworks mobilised

We operate within the contractual frameworks applicable to each jurisdiction. In Switzerland, SIA 118 (general conditions) and SIA 118/329 (curtain walls) dominate. In France, CCAG (works, intellectual services) and DTU. Internationally, FIDIC contracts (Red, Yellow, Silver Book) and VOB/B in Germany. In arbitration, ICC, DIS and Swiss Chambers' Arbitration Institution rulesets.

§ 03Simultaneous contract + technical reading

The ability to read contract and technical file simultaneously, in real time, on a complex dossier, is rare. It is what separates an envelope contractual expert from a generalist construction lawyer or from a facade engineer without contractual training.

§ 01Upstream preparation

Ideal intervention: before the first claim emerges. Contractual project audit identifies potential dispute zones from the moment the contracts are signed (tolerance clauses, penalties, interfaces, variation regimes). Hierarchised risk map: probable claims, possible claims, structurally improbable claims. Site-documentation protocols deployed with operational teams. The upstream investment is modest relative to the stakes: a few weeks of contractual scoping and documentary structuring can prevent several hundred thousand euros of claims absorbed at handover.

§ 02Claim instruction

When a claim must be instructed, the work rests on four cross-analyses. Contractual analysis (legal ground, mobilisable clauses, deadlines and formalities). Technical analysis (physical reality of prejudice, causality, reasonable measures that could have avoided damage). Chronological analysis (factual reconstruction of the sequence; chronology often makes or breaks a claim). Financial analysis (conversion of prejudice into documented costs: unproductive hours, additional materials, logistical overruns, penalties, lost margins). The costing must be defensible cold before an arbitrator, not warm at a negotiation table.

§ 03Negotiation and arbitration

Negotiation rests on the four prior analyses; without them, it is conducted blind. We prepare high/middle/low scenarios with each scenario costed and argued. Participation in adversarial meetings (on site, before an arbitrator, or in videoconference) is supported by a structured factual base. The aim is not rhetorical victory: it is the documented and defensible settlement of the file. If negotiation concludes, drafting of a transactional protocol that formalises the agreement and closes the dispute contractually.

§ 04Escalation if needed

If negotiation fails, the litigation phase opens (arbitral tribunal, ordinary court, DIS or ICC proceedings per the clause). Our intervention articulates with lawyers mandated by the client, in technical support rather than legal substitution. File construction for transmission to counsel, drafting of a synthetic technical expertise note, defensible prejudice computations, certified chronology, authenticated photographs. On request, intervention in hearing as technical witness. Escalation is always a partial failure; it consumes time, cash and attention. Our role is to maximise the client's chances by factually documenting the position, not to amplify the adversarial dimension.

§ CHSwitzerland

SIA 118 (general conditions for construction works execution, dominant for Suisse romande and alémanique). SIA 118/329 (clauses specific to curtain walls and facade claddings, articulation with SIA 329). SIA 380/1 and 2040 (thermal and carbon frameworks, often invoked on performance-defect claims).

§ FRFrance

CCAG Travaux and CCAG Prestations intellectuelles (public frameworks, also used as standard references in private contracts). DTU (Documents techniques unifiés, notably DTU 33.1 lightweight facades, invocable as best-practice references). Code civil (Articles 1792 and following on decennial liability, invoked when a defect emerges after handover).

§ INTInternational

FIDIC (Red Book classic work, Yellow Book design-build plant, Silver Book EPC turnkey, Gold Book design-build-operate, each with its claim, penalty and variation clauses). VOB/B (Germany, standard contractual framework for public and private works, invocable in France through adaptation).

§ ARBArbitration

ICC Arbitration Rules (International Chamber of Commerce). DIS Rules (Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit). Swiss Chambers' Arbitration Institution. See the complete normative compendium: Standards and Referentials.

§ DTPSite Execution & Supervision

Site supervision is the first bulwark against claim generation. A well-piloted site (with documentation protocols, respected arrest points, anticipated interfaces) sharply reduces claim volume. Claim management intervenes when supervision is insufficient, or when the initial mandate did not include supervision. See Site Execution & Supervision.

§ ECOProject Economics

Shadow pricing and strategic value engineering are the tools of prejudice costing. A financial claim analysis rests on the same real-cost mastery as design-stage economics. See Project Economics.

§ DBLDesign-Build Lead

When we pilot a D&B consortium, claim management protects the consortium against owner claims, or constructs legitimate consortium claims. Internal consortium governance frames the handling of claims between partners. See Design-Build Lead.

§ EXPFacade Forensic Expertise (post-handover litigation)

Distinct. Forensic expertise covers post-handover, open litigation, definitive pathology (typically after handover or after the defect-notification-period). Claim management covers the project's active lifecycle. Both practices methodologically feed each other but do not blur. See Facade Forensic Expertise.