John Robert Papworth
- Bridgwater, United Kingdom
- +44 7747778517
- johnrobertpapworth@gmail.com
I have been a sole practitioner in dispute resolution in international engineering and construction since 1992. I have been on the FIDIC President's List of Adjudicators or Dispute Board (DB) Members since 2006. I have worked as a DB Chairman or Member since then. I have been an accredited Adjudicator with the ICE since 2000. As a DB Chairman or Member, I have worked in East and Southern Africa, Eastern and Western Europe and South-East Asia.
Prior to practicing in DBs, I worked as a consultant in disputes on power stations, water and sewerage, oil and gas, civil engineering and building projects in East Africa, South-East Asia, the Caribbean, India, Western Europe and the Middle East.
Before commencing in practice on my own, I worked for international contractors and consultancies on building, civil engineering and defence contracts on all the main forms of contract. This included contentious and non-contentious work. The contentious work included compiling and responding to claims, including in arbitration, as well as a professional indemnity insurance claim in the Middle East. The non-contentious work embraced giving advice on how to settle and avoid disputes, and drafting contracts and consultancy agreements for defence and other projects and a Garden Festival.
In the early stages of my career, I worked as a trainee, assistant, then Senior Quantity Surveyor in England and was appointed as Chief Quantity Surveyor of the premier contractor in Ghana in 1975, where I worked for two years, mainly on the preparation of claims.
I have been a sole practitioner in dispute resolution in international engineering and construction since 1992. I have been on the FIDIC President's List of Adjudicators or Dispute Board (DB) Members since 2006. I have worked as a DB Chairman or Member since then. I have been an accredited Adjudicator with the ICE since 2000. As a DB Chairman or Member, I have worked in East and Southern Africa, Eastern and Western Europe and South-East Asia.
Prior to practicing in DBs, I worked as a consultant in disputes on power stations, water and sewerage, oil and gas, civil engineering and building projects in East Africa, South-East Asia, the Caribbean, India, Western Europe and the Middle East.
Before commencing in practice on my own, I worked for international contractors and consultancies on building, civil engineering and defence contracts on all the main forms of contract. This included contentious and non-contentious work. The contentious work included compiling and responding to claims, including in arbitration, as well as a professional indemnity insurance claim in the Middle East. The non-contentious work embraced giving advice on how to settle and avoid disputes, and drafting contracts and consultancy agreements for defence and other projects and a Garden Festival.
In the early stages of my career, I worked as a trainee, assistant, then Senior Quantity Surveyor in England and was appointed as Chief Quantity Surveyor of the premier contractor in Ghana in 1975, where I worked for two years, mainly on the preparation of claims.
Awards
2026 Awarded'Chartered Civil Engineering Surveyor' (CCES) jointly by RICS and CICES
2024 Awarded Fellowship of the Controls and Skills Authority (FCaSA), formerly the Association of Cost Engineers
2021 Awarded Fellowship of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE)
2021 Accorded the title of FIDIC Certified Adjudicator
2017 Awarded Associate Fellowship of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (AFIChemE)
2008 Awarded title of Chartered Arbitrator (CArb)
2006 Admitted to the FIDIC President's List of Adjudicators
2005 Elected General Secretary and Treasurer of the European Council of Construction Economists
2005 Awarded Fellowship of the now Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (FCInstCES)
2005 Awarded Fellowship of the Association of Cost Engineers as it then was - now the CaSA
2000 Elected first Chairman of RICS' Construction Faculty
1999 Elected last President of RICS' QS Division
1998 Awarded Fellowship of the Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (FInstCES) as it then was
1997 Awarded Membership of the Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (MInstCES) as it then was
1991 Awarded Membership of the Association of Cost Engineers (MACostE) as it then was
1991 Awarded Associate Membership of the Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (AMInstCES) as it then was
1998 Awarded Fellowship of the now Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
1985 Awarded Fellowship of the RICS (FRICS) following amalgamation of the IQS into the RICS
1973 Admitted as Associate Member of the Institute of Arbitrators (AIArb) as it then was
1973 Awarded Wates Foundation Prize in Thames Polytechnic
1973 Awarded Associateship of Thames Polytechnic as Best Student in Faculty of Architecture and Surveying
1973 Qualified as Associate Member of Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS) after passing First, Second and Final Examinations in consecutive years - studies by part-time day and evening course at Hammersmith College of Art & Building and Thames Polytechnic, both in Hammersmith, London
Background and Education
Qualifications
Chartered Arbitrator; FIDIC Certified Adjudicator (DB Member); ICE Listed Adjudicator.
Training
'Training and speaking' tab on the ' dropdown menu on my website. I now give training in FIDIC Contracts and DBs at events organised by the ICC, DRBF and FIDIC.
In order to maintain my membership of the RICS and my place on the FIDIC President's List of Adjudicators and the ICE List of Adjudicators, I have to carry out CPD throughout the year. In 2025, I carried out 128.25 hours of CPD.
This included devoting much voluntary time to producing a FIDIC Practice Note on the Preparation and Composition of DB Decisions, taking part in mock DB site meetings and hearings and attending webinars giving case law updates, usually in Adjudication.
I can provide my list of CPD over the years of my career if required, but it is quite long.
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