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John Robert Papworth
FICM COI Checked CPD Current Construction, Infrastructure & Real Estate Projects Bench

John Robert Papworth

Managing Director

Bridgwater, United Kingdom · Europe
Bench: Construction, Infrastructure & Real Estate Projects Bench Practice: mediation arbitration evaluation
Professional Biography
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.  
Qualifications & 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.  
Awards & Recognition
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        
Global Bench
Construction, Infrastructure & Real Estate Projects Bench

EPC contracts, project management, engineering, procurement, PPPs, real estate, and construction claims.

INDS™ Qualified

John Robert Papworth is listed on the TheNeutrals.ORG™ Global Bench and is qualified under the INDS™ Neutral Evaluation methodology. Every engagement follows the six-stage INDS™ process: Intake, Information Gathering, Behavioural Assessment, Risk Analysis, Strategy & Settlement Feasibility, and Final Report. All four sub-frameworks (INDS-BF™, INDS-RG™, INDS-SFM™, INDS-SF™) apply to every evaluation engagement.

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