Chartered Infrastructure Dispute Professional

Chartered Infrastructure Dispute Professional (CHIDP) 

A Professional Specialized Skill Training Program by Indian Arbitration Institution (IAI)

• Eligibility: Any Basic Qualification or any Formal Education with Post Graduate Diploma or Masters along with any prior work experience.

• Total Fees: Rs. 10,000/-
  (Everything Included from Admission, Course Fees and Delivery of Certificate, no additional Fees Apart from it)

• Mode: Online

• Study Material:  Will be provided through Learning Dashboard/Portal

• Learning Type: Self Paced

• Duration:  3 Months (Preferably, but can be completed anytime as soon as you give the Exam)

• Enrollment:  Any Time, there is no Fixed Enrolment Date or Day. A candidate can choose any time and the enrolment will be processed real time.

• Exam: One Online Exam, MCQ and Subjective Type Questions of 100 Marks. Passing Marks 40%. If unsuccessful, you can give additional two attempts.

• Procedure: Fill the Apply Now Form →  Pay the Requisite Amount of Fees by Clicking Pay Now Button → Then Click on Payment Confirmation button and fill the form with all the Details → Then login to the Dashboard.

Course Overview

The infrastructure sector operates on an unprecedented scale, marked by multi-decade concessions, complex engineering procurement and construction (EPC) structures, intricate financing agreements, and public-private partnerships (PPP). Given the enormous capital investments and operational interdependencies involved, infrastructure projects are uniquely prone to delays, cost overruns, technical modifications, and contractual stalemates. Resolving these multi-layered conflicts requires specialized practitioners who possess both commercial-legal literacy and engineering-contractual fluency. The Chartered Infrastructure Dispute Professional (CHIDP), administered by the Indian Arbitration Institution (IAI), is an elite credential designed to cultivate top-tier proficiency in navigating, managing, and resolving disputes across critical infrastructure verticals.

The program delivers comprehensive training across the entire lifecycle of infrastructure conflict resolution, beginning with pre-dispute contract administration and risk mitigation through to final arbitral enforcement. Participants examine standard international and domestic contracting frameworks—including FIDIC (Red, Yellow, and Silver Books), NEC, EPC turnkey arrangements, and Concession Agreements (HAM, BOT, and BOOT models). The curriculum emphasizes the root causes of major project breakdowns, such as employer risks, ground condition variations, design liabilities, right-of-way bottlenecks, regulatory shifts, and statutory policy changes.

A key component of the CHIDP curriculum is its analytical approach to technical evidence, critical path delay analysis (CPM), and complex quantum claims. Candidates learn how to interpret scheduling methodologies—such as As-Planned vs. As-Built, Collapsed As-Built, and Time Impact Analysis (TIA)—alongside forensic assessment of prolongation costs, disruption claims, and head-office overhead calculations under standard formulas. The program details the operational mechanisms of dispute avoidance tools, specifically Dispute Adjudication Boards (DABs), Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Boards (DAABs), and specialized statutory expert determination protocols.

Designed for engineers, construction managers, procurement officers, in-house counsel, and dispute resolution practitioners, CHIDP equips professionals to handle complex cross-examinations, prepare robust claim submissions, and safeguard large-scale infrastructure capital from protracted litigation. By blending construction jurisprudence with real-world project governance, the Indian Arbitration Institution ensures graduates possess the technical acumen to safeguard public and private interests in high-stakes infrastructure environments.

Course Structure and Modules

The tentative modules are as follows and are subject to continuous updates based on guidelines issued by the IAI Board of Skill Studies:

Module 1: Infrastructure Contracting Frameworks & Risk Allocation

• Analysis of FIDIC suites (Red, Yellow, Silver Books), NEC forms, and standard government EPC contracts.

• Concession arrangements: Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), BOT, BOOT, and Hybrid Annuity Models (HAM).

• Risk profiling: allocating geotechnical hazards, statutory clearance delays, and force majeure events.

Module 2: Project Administration, Variations, and Early Dispute Mitigation

• Change-of-scope management, site instructions, and contractual notice requirements.

• Document control systems, contemporary project records, and daily correspondence preservation.

• Pre-dispute mitigation mechanisms: notices of dissatisfaction, engineer determinations, and multi-tier clauses.

Module 3: Forensic Delay Analysis and Extension of Time (EoT) Claims

• Critical Path Method (CPM) delay analysis methodologies (Window Analysis, Time Impact Analysis, As-Planned vs. As-Built).

• Concurrent delay allocation, pacing of work, and owner-caused vs. contractor-caused delays.

• Structuring Extension of Time (EoT) claim dossiers and evidentiary justification.

Module 4: Quantification of Claims: Disruption, Acceleration, and Quantum

• Measuring loss of productivity using Measured Mile, baseline comparisons, and industry indices.

• Prolongation costs, unabsorbed head-office overheads (Hudson, Emden, and Eichleay formulae), and financing charges.

• Constructive acceleration costs, price escalation claims, and economic loss calculations.

Module 5: Dispute Boards: DAB, DAAB, and Statutory Expert Determination

• Establishment, powers, and procedures of Dispute Adjudication/Avoidance Boards (DAB/DAAB).

• Conducting site hearings, emergency decision-making, and informal dispute prevention on running projects.

• Enforceability of DAAB determinations and transition to formal arbitral references.

Module 6: Infrastructure Arbitration Practice and Tribunal Procedures

• Drafting statements of claim and defense in complex engineering and construction arbitrations.

• Bifurcation of arbitral proceedings: separating liability determinations from quantum assessments.

• Interim measures, protective orders for bank guarantees, and securing disputed site assets.

Module 7: Technical and Quantum Expert Evidence in Proceedings

• Instructing independent delay experts, forensic quantity surveyors, and technical engineering witnesses.

• Joint expert statements, expert witness conferences, and "hot-tubbing" (concurrent expert evidence).

• Cross-examination techniques for technical data, scheduling software models, and cost ledgers.

Module 8: Setting Aside, Enforcement, and Execution of Infrastructure Awards

• Challenges to arbitral awards in public infrastructure and sovereign procurement contexts.

• Public policy exceptions, patent illegality, and grounds for setting aside awards.

• Execution of monetary awards against statutory authorities, private concessionaires, and foreign states.

Importance of Doing this Course

Global infrastructure development continues to expand across highways, rail corridors, renewable energy farms, ports, and smart city networks. However, these complex mega-projects carry significant vulnerability to contractual conflict. Traditional legal practitioners often lack the technical and scheduling literacy to decipher engineering logs and critical path schedules, while site engineers and project directors frequently lack the procedural acumen required to protect their rights under formal dispute clauses. The Chartered Infrastructure Dispute Professional (CHIDP) credential directly resolves this industry-wide division.

First, the program imparts actionable forensic skills. Participants develop an understanding of how delay and quantum calculations are proven or dismantled before arbitral tribunals. Mastery over methodologies like Time Impact Analysis and the measured-mile approach transforms practitioners from administrative overseers into skilled dispute strategists capable of defending or asserting multi-crore claims with mathematical rigor.

Second, the course provides an early-stage risk mitigation toolkit. The majority of project disputes can be settled or mitigated before escalation if contemporary records, statutory notices, and variation trackers are managed to arbitral standards from day one. CHIDP equips project leaders with the operational discipline to build bulletproof contract administration processes, protecting project margins and reducing unrecoverable loss.

Third, the CHIDP designation functions as a benchmark of professional capability. Awarded by the Indian Arbitration Institution, this certification assures employers, arbitral institutions, and joint-venture partners that the holder is capable of handling complex disputes within modern infrastructure procurement. Whether serving on a Dispute Avoidance Board, advising an EPC contractor, or guiding a government employer, CHIDP professionals hold a decisive advantage in managing project conflict.

Career Prospects

The CHIDP qualification prepares professionals for senior dispute-handling, claims-management, and advisory roles across construction conglomerates, consultancy firms, and legal bodies.

Contract and Claims Managers in EPC Companies: Major engineering and construction contractors continually seek specialists to direct claims teams. CHIDP holders lead variation assessments, structure Extension of Time (EoT) submissions, and negotiate equitable cost adjustments with project owners, mitigating cash-flow interruptions on mega-projects.

Dispute Avoidance / Adjudication Board (DAAB) Members and Arbitrators: Experienced engineers, architects, and legal professionals leverage the credential to secure appointments as independent adjudicators on permanent or ad-hoc project dispute boards. Their cross-disciplinary background allows them to issue binding decisions and prevent minor grievances from halting physical construction.

Infrastructure Dispute Counsel and Litigation Associates: Specialized dispute resolution boutique firms, top-tier law practices, and independent counsel recruit CHIDP-certified professionals to draft pleadings, cross-examine technical experts, and formulate commercial case strategies in domestic and international construction arbitrations.

Government and Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Legal Advisors: Highway authorities, rail corporations, metro operators, and energy boards employ certified professionals to oversee external legal panels, evaluate claims brought by concessionaires, and safeguard public expenditures against inflated delay and disruption claims.

Delay and Quantum Forensic Experts: Global consulting and accounting practices regularly hire credentialed specialists to prepare independent expert reports, run scheduling reconstructions, and provide authoritative testimony on project delays and financial losses before arbitral tribunals.

Necessary Details

The Indian Arbitration Institution offers this professional charter via an accessible, modern digital environment designed to meet the demands of working executives and postgraduate scholars.

Eligibility To maintain elite professional and educational standards, admission requires:

• Any Basic Qualification or any Formal Education with a Post Graduate Diploma or Master's degree, along with any prior work experience.

This broad yet demanding standard welcomes civil engineers, project directors, corporate lawyers, quantity surveyors, architects, contract administrators, and management executives seeking deep specialization in infrastructure conflict.

Total Fees The comprehensive program fee is Rs. 10,000/-. This is an all-inclusive single fee structure covering admission, registration, administrative costs, complete digital learning material access, examination administration, and the physical delivery of the final Chartered Certificate right to the candidate's address. There are no additional or hidden fees.

Mode and Study Material The program is delivered entirely Online. Once enrolled, participants receive access credentials to the dedicated Learning Dashboard/Portal. Complete Study Material—including model dispute clauses, real-world case transcripts, delay analysis primers, FIDIC guidance manuals, and instructional modules—is made available through the digital portal for anytime reference.

Learning Type and Duration The training is completely Self-Paced. While the standard recommended duration is 3 Months, candidates are empowered to study at their preferred speed; learners can schedule and complete their examination whenever they feel fully prepared, without having to wait for a fixed semester end.

Enrollment Enrollment is open Any Time throughout the year. There are no fixed calendar intakes, application cutoffs, or batch restrictions. Every application is processed in real time, granting immediate entry to the course resources.

Examination Structure Certification is awarded upon clearing One Online Exam comprising a blend of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and Subjective Case-Scenario Questions, evaluated out of a total of 100 Marks.

• Passing Marks: 40%

• Re-examination Policy: If a candidate is unsuccessful on their first attempt, they are entitled to two additional attempts at no additional charge.

Application Procedure

1. Apply: Complete and submit the Apply Now Form on the IAI portal.

2. Pay: Submit the requisite fee of Rs. 10,000/- by clicking the Pay Now button.

3. Confirm: Click on the Payment Confirmation button and fill in the verification form with the required transaction details.

4. Access: Log in to the Learning Dashboard to begin the modules immediately.