Skip links
Senior Executive Leadership Programme on Arbitration, Mediation & Legal Leadership | London & Cambridge | June 30 - July 3, 2025 | Apply Now!

Type and hit enter

Apply Now
Dhirubhai Ambani University School of Law

From Paper to Podium: Teaching International Arbitration in the Age of Practice-Based Learning

By Ajit Kumar Mishra, FCIArb

Introduction

What happens when a lawyer with impeccable academic credentials faces their first construction dispute arbitration? Too often, they discover that textbook knowledge crumbles faster than poorly mixed concrete. After 25 years handling billion-dollar infrastructure projects and now serving as an Honorary Professor of Law, I’ve witnessed this disconnect firsthand—brilliant legal minds stumbling when theory meets construction site reality.

Last month, I observed a young lawyer falter when confronted with a delay claim hinging on critical path methodology—a concept absent from law school but fundamental to construction disputes. Why? Because we’ve built legal education on theoretical foundations without the practical scaffolding needed for real-world application.

Bridging the Gap

Construction arbitration demands unique skills that extend beyond traditional legal training. Recently, a USD 50 million dispute hinged entirely on interpreting a technical specification—while lawyers researched doctrines of contractual interpretation, they missed the engineering context that would have resolved the matter quickly. Practice-based learning transforms education from “knowing about” to “knowing how.” This approach requires three key structural supports:
  1. Case Study Integration: Rather than abstract principles, students must engage with anonymized real infrastructure disputes. While managing infrastructure projects, I’ve seen arbitrations succeed or fail based on the ability to decode technical specifications and understand site realities—not legal arguments alone.
  2. Interdisciplinary Knowledge: My background combining Civil Engineering with legal training (LLM in International Dispute Resolution) proves invaluable daily. When adjudicating a recent USD 120 million dispute, what appeared to be a complex geotechnical issue was ultimately resolved through clear understanding of contractual risk allocation clauses. While technical experts from both sides presented contradictory interpretations of the soil conditions, it was precise legal analysis of the contract terms regarding “unforeseeable physical conditions” that determined liability. This demonstrates how legal clarity can cut through technical complexity when properly applied.
  3. Technological Competence: In today’s arbitrations, document management systems handle hundreds of thousands of project records. Students lacking technology training face a costly learning curve in practice, as I witnessed when one party introduced a sophisticated 4D construction scheduling simulation that left opposing counsel completely unprepared.

Implementation Strategies

DAU-School of Law has pioneered innovative approaches to connect academia and practice and I would explore this ecosystem through three core strategies:

  1. Practitioner Involvement: Bringing active practitioners into classrooms provides perspectives no textbook contains. My future “shadow arbitrator” program allows students to observe actual proceedings and produce their own awards, revealing precisely where theory fails to account for reality.
  2. Site Experience: Partnership with construction firms to create internships where students spend time not just in legal departments but on actual construction disputes. This practical feel is essential to let students understand, far example, what ‘fit for purpose’ actually means in practice.
  3. Problem-Based Learning: Students needs to be exposed to face real-world challenges: drafting emergency procedural orders under tight deadlines, developing strategies for multi-party disputes, and calculating quantum using actual project documentation. Those who excel in theoretical examinations often struggle with these practical challenges, while others discover untapped talents.

Leading the Transformation

This blog marks the first in a series where I will systematically dismantle the wall between academic theory and arbitration practice. Drawing from my experience managing large disputes while serving as a FIDIC Certified Adjudicator, I will provide practitioners and educators with actionable frameworks for integration.

Future blogs will explore FIDIC contract dispute mechanisms, technical expertise in arbitration, multi-jurisdictional challenges, and damage quantification methodologies. Each piece will feature practical case studies, implementable teaching methodologies, and assessment techniques that measure real-world competence rather than theoretical knowledge.

As Vice Chairman of the Society of Construction Law, India, I am uniquely positioned to bring stakeholders together—law schools, engineering departments, arbitral institutions, and construction companies—to create a new blueprint for education that produces practice-ready professionals from day one.

Looking Ahead

The transformation of arbitration education is not merely academic—billions of dollars and critical infrastructure hang in the balance. By integrating real-world experience with theoretical knowledge, we prepare practitioners who can navigate international construction disputes with confidence.

I invite academics and practitioners alike to join this dialogue and contribute to reimagining how we educate the next generation of construction arbitration specialists. After all, in both construction and arbitration, the true measure of success isn’t how impressive something looks on paper, but how well it performs when tested in the real world.

Ajit Kumar Mishra, Honorary Professor of Law is Head of Contract Management Division as Executive Director for a USD 12 billion World Bank/JICA funded infrastructure project and a FIDIC President’s List Adjudicator and Trainer with over 25 years of experience in project management and dispute resolution.