Engineer, arbitrator, conciliator, mediator and special advisor to international engineering federation FIDIC, Nael Bunni, has died.
FIDIC, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers, has announced the death at 86 of Dr Nael Bunni, one of its special advisors and a giant in the field of FIDIC contracts for more than three decades.
Dr Bunni played a significant role around issues related to risk, liability, insurance, contracts, dispute avoidance and dispute resolution. He had a longstanding involvement in the FIDIC contracts committee, was involved in the development of the 1999 suite of FIDIC contracts and has been a special advisor to the organisation’s contracts committee on insurance and related matters.
He was also closely involved in the development of the 2017 suite of FIDIC contracts and their subsequent reprints, the FIDIC Contracts Guide 2022 and also played a key role in the development of many other FIDIC contracts.
Right up to the present day, Dr Bunni has been a vital asset for FIDIC and the continued development of its global industry-leading contract and agreement model forms and guides. A regular speaker at FIDIC conferences and construction industry business events, Bunni’s wide expertise in the field of insurance and liability in various legal jurisdictions was always well recognised and valued. He also received FIDIC’s highest accolade, the Prangey Award, in 2018 for his outstanding service to FIDIC and the consulting engineering industry.
Commenting on his death, FIDIC’s chief legal and contracts officer, Daduna Kokhreidze, said: “This is a massive loss for the FIDIC community, for the industry and for all of us who worked closely with him. There is no doubt that Nael will be greatly missed and this is a very sad day. He provided continuous support to FIDIC over many decades, with his very diligent reviews and advice on our contracts. His latest contribution is also reflected in the FIDIC Carbon Management Guide, which launches next month. Nael was always happy to help and share his significant experience and he applied that experience and expertise by authoring many books on FIDIC contracts. He really was a great person – a legend in his field I would say – and he will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him and who worked with him.”
Born in Iraq in 1939, Nael Bunni was a chartered engineer, registered chartered arbitrator, conciliator and mediator. Formerly a visiting professor in construction law and contract administration at Trinity College Dublin, he was also a past president of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (1987-88), past president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (2000-01) and a past chairman of its Irish branch (1986-89).
Between 1994 and 2007, he was a member of the board of directors of the London Court of International Arbitration and from 2004-2012 he was the chairman of the Dispute Resolution Panel of the Institution of Engineers Ireland. He was appointed arbitrator in over 145 cases of dispute, together with many other appointments as facilitator in alternative dispute resolution methods, with parties from in excess of 50 jurisdictions.
Nael Bunni
1939 – 2025
