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Civil Engineer, DB Adjudicator, Mediator, Arbitrator

Toshiko

Dr. Toshihiko Omoto, a civil engineer and dispute resolver specialises in major engineering projects and for over the past 40 years had responsibility for some of the world’s largest infrastructure projects worldwide.

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Professional and Educational Qualifications:

  • Adjunct Professor, School of Management, Kyoto University (MBA)
  • Dr. of Engineering (Kyoto University, Japan)
  • BSc & MSc in Civil Engineering (Kyoto University, Japan)
  • MSc in Construction Law & Arbitration (University of London)
  • First-Class Civil Engineer (Works Execution Managing Engineer), Japan
  • Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb.), UK
  • Fellow, Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE), UK
  • FIDIC President’s List of Approved Dispute Adjudicators
  • One of Three Members of Assessment Panel for FIDIC President’s List of Approved Dispute Adjudicators

Listing:

  • FIDIC President’ List of Approved Dispute Adjudicators
  • SIAC Panel of Arbitrators, Singapore International Arbitration Centre
  • KLRCA Panel of Arbitrators and Panel of Mediators, Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitrators
  • VIAC Panel of Arbitrators, Vietnam International Arbitration Centre
  • International Panel of the American Arbitration Association (AAA)
  • AAA's Roaster of Dispute Review Board Members
  • Dispute Board, Arbitration and Mediation Panels of the Dispute Board Federation (DBF)

Legal & Dispute Resolution Training:

  • Training Workshop: Successful Use of Dispute Boards under FIDIC MDB Harmonized Conditions for Construction, Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF), 5 - 6 May 2008, Cape Town, South Africa
  • Arbitrator Training Course, Japan Association of Arbitration (JAA), 21 October 2004 – 14 January 2005
  • Mediator Training Course, Japan Association of Arbitration (JAA), 6 October – 1 December 2005
  • FIDIC's Adjudication Training Workshop, ICE London, 7-8 December 2000
  • Arbitration in Asia 21, Singapore, 17-18 November 2000
  • APEC-ADR EEP 2000 Workshop, Bangkok, Thailand, 14-16 November 2000
  • DRB Foundation 1st Annual Meeting Workshop, 1997
  • ADR Seminar, Geneva, 12-13 November 1992
  • AAA Arbitrator's Training, Asia Pacific Center, 1992
  • MSc in Construction Law and Arbitration, University of London, 1989-1991 (MSc awarded 1992)

Professional Experience:

  • Employed by a major Japanese contractor (Taisei) since completing MSc at Kyoto University in 1974 until June 2000.
  • For the first ten years, main assignments involved project management, i.e., work supervision, cost control, quality control, and schedule control.
  • For the last fifteen years, assignments also involved project management, but mainly contract administration, claim negotiation, and dispute settlement.
  • Established, in July 2000, as an independent consultant for contract management and dispute resolution in engineering and construction projects.
  • Professor at School of Management, Kyoto University (MBA), 2006 – 2010.
  • Adjunct Professor at School of Management, Kyoto University currently from 2010.
  • Visiting Researcher at Institute of Construction Management, SCOPE (Service Center of Port Engineering) currently from 2010.

Dispute Resolution Specialities:

  • Considerable experiences as a contracting party in negotiation and arbitration, including arbitration in accordance with UNCITRAL Rules, ICC Rules and JCAA Rules.
  • As an independent consultant, advising owners, contractors, process plant engineering companies, manufactures, insurers, official funding agencies (JICA etc.), for contract management, claims and dispute resolution (Dispute Board, mediation and arbitration).
  • As a Neutral, serving as mediator, arbitrator and Dispute Board Member.

Areas of Expertise:

  • Engineering and construction dispute resolution
  • Construction Management
  • Building and Civil Engineering
  • Geotechnics and foundations
  • Hydro Projects
  • Infrastructure
  • Railways
  • Bridges
  • Irrigation and Land Reclamation
  • Manufacturing and Process Plant
  • Marine Civil Engineering
  • Metro Railways and Stations
  • Road and Storm Defence Works
  • Rock Anchors and Grouting
  • Tunnels and Shafts
  • Water Treatment and Pumping Plant

Professional Memberships:

  • Member, Association of Japanese Consulting Engineers (AJCE)
  • Fellow, Japan Society of Civil Engineers (FJSCE)
  • Fellow, Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE)
  • Member, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
  • Professional Member, Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF)
  • Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), UK
  • Fellow, the Dispute Board Federation (Geneva)
  • Member, Japan Association of Arbitrators
  • Member, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association
  • Society of Construction Law, UK

Languages:

  • English (fluent)
  • Japanese (mother tongue)

Publications and Papers:

  • Japanese translation of “Construction Contracts – Law and Management” published by Will Hughes and John Murdock, 2011, ISBN978-4-7655-1787-4
  • Dispute Board, 2010, ISBN978-4-7824-1005-9
  • A theoretical Study of the Construction Contract and Dispute Resolution, Thesis for Doctoral Degree, Kyoto University, Japan, 2002
  • Risk Sharing in Construction Contract Forms, JSCE, 2001
  • The Contractual Structure and Social Efficiency of Public Construction Projects, 2000
  • Construction Projects, 2000
  • International Construction Contracts and Claims, The Foundation Engineering & Equipment, vol. 24 No.1, January, 1996
  • Role of the Engineer, Journal of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, vol. 80, 4, 1995
  • A Comparative Study of British and Japanese Construction Contracts, 1992, Thesis for MSc, in Construction Law and Arbitration, King’s College, London. This was presented in the Construction Law Review, Volume 13, Part 4, October 1996.

Lectures:

  • Adjunct Professor at School of Management, Kyoto University on “Contract Management and Dispute Resolution”, 2010 to date
  • Professor at School of Management, Kyoto University on “Contract Management and Dispute Resolution”, 2006-2010
  • Visiting Lecturer at College of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on “International Projects and Contract Management”, 2002 - 2005
  • Visiting Lecturer at Nagoya Institute of Technology on "Risk Management", April-September, 2000-2004
  • Visiting Lecturer at Nagoya University on "Project Management", April –September, 2001-2006
  • Regular Lecture at OCAJI (Overseas Contractors Association of Japan Inc.) on "Construction Contracts and Disputes", 1994-1999
  • "Construction Disputes and their Avoidance or Resolution", JSCE, Tokyo, 17 November 2000
  • "How to settle Disputes in Japan", CIArb (East Asia Branch), Hong Kong, 18 May 2000
  • Session Leader, Project Management Panel Discussion, "Civil Engineering in the Asia Region", Co-sponsored by the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers, Japan Society of Civil Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers, Manila, 19-20 February 1998
  • "Dispute Review Board", The International Contractors' Group Meeting, Singapore, 22 October 1997
  • Panellist for the World Conference on Construction Risk, Paris, 25-26 April 1996
  • "The Role of the Engineer for the International Construction Contracts in Japan", Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo, February 1996
  • Panellist for the "World Conference on Construction Risk", Singapore, 5-6 October 1995
  • Panellist for the "World Conference on Construction Risk", Paris, 28 29 April 1994
  • "Construction Disputes: Avoidance and Resolution", ASCE Japan Section, 20 August 1993
  • "Experience with Hurdles for Japanese Contractors Contracting Abroad and Joint Ventures with Foreign Contractors in Japan", International Bar Association Conference, New Orleans, 12-13 October 1992
  • "Japan's Licensing of Foreign Contractors", Inter-Pacific Bar Association, Second Annual Conference, Sydney, 3-6 May 1992

Awards:

Al Mathews Award

The Dispute Resolution Board Foundation presents the prestigious Al Mathews Award each year to one or more DRBF members who have given exemplary service in advancing the use of the Dispute Resolution Board concepts and the DRBF. Nominations are solicited from the membership and by the president of the Executive Board of Directors. The award is presented at the Gala Dinner hosted in conjunction with the DRBF Annual Meeting and Conference, held year 2012 in New York. Congratulations to his year’s recipients: James J. Brady and Toshihiko Omoto

Dr. Toshihiko Omoto joined the DRBF in January, 1997, at which time he was responsible for administering dispute resolution for Taisei Corporation's engineering and construction contracts outside Japan. After retiring from Taisei Corporation, he was made a full Professor at Kyoto University, holding a Chair in Conflict Resolution, and during his work as professor he has promoted the use of Dispute Boards and the DRBF. For fourteen years, until 2012, he served as DRBF Country Representative for Japan.

He is the author of the first book published in Japan on Dispute Boards. Also, he was the first Asian appointed to the FIDIC President's List of Approved Adjudicators and now serves as one of three members of FIDIC's Assessment Panel for Adjudicators, which assesses applicants for entry on that FIDIC President's List.

An outstanding example of his continuous promotion of Dispute Boards and our Foundation is his leadership in the establishment by the Japan International Cooperation Agency ("JICA") of a program of training on use of Dispute Boards for contracts financed by that agency throughout Southeast Asia, including the training and subsequent assessment of Asian nationals who wish to serve as Dispute Board members accredited by the Asian Member Associations of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers ("FIDIC"). In this work he has promoted interest in, and membership in, the DRBF, and has involved DRBF members in the training and assessment.

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