4.39.5 It is crucial to include in the IAA provisions for resolving disputes between the participating authorities. These can take the form of -
• Deferral, in which if an authority declares that a proposed decision is disputed, there is an automatic "cooling off period" during which the authorities can have private discussions, and the proposed decision cannot be taken by the Joint Committee until that "cooling off period" has expired.
• Escalation, in which the disputed issue is referred up to a meeting of the Leaders of the participating authorities, or other senior officers or members, to see if agreement can be reached on the matter.
• Mediation or Conciliation, in which an independent third party comes in to see whether he/she can broker agreement between the authorities on the disputed issue.
• Arbitration, in which both parties to the dispute set out their cases to an independent arbitrator, and agree to be bound by the decision of the arbitrator.
In the WIDP pro-forma IAA, for example, where the Joint Committee fails to resolve a dispute or disagreement, the Joint Committee or any authority as appropriate may refer the matter to the Joint Leaders or Members Meeting, the CIWM or such other parties as the authority may agree (or the CIWM may direct) or to traditional litigation in the Courts (see Clause 24, Module 6D, Proforma IAA Joint Committee).
4.39.6 It is possible to structure a dispute resolution process which involves a combination of these mechanisms.
4.39.7 In practice, escalation provides a quick means of seeking to resolve a dispute, and so is normally the first step in dispute resolution, perhaps limited to a 14 day period from the identification of a dispute by any participating authority. During the procurement phase, when it is particularly important to secure the willing participation of all participating authorities, mediation or conciliation may be the appropriate provision, and arbitration may not be acceptable as it imposes a solution on the parties, willing or unwilling. Once the main project contract has been entered, and it is necessary to have a definite decision on a matter, the participating authorities cannot accept the possibility of non-agreement and deadlock which is inherent in mediation or conciliation, and so arbitration will be the appropriate long-stop provision.