Hon. Lord Chief Justice Michael Whitten QC

Michael Whitten QC is the current Lord Chief Justice of the Kingdom of Tonga. Prior to his Honour’s appointment in mid-2019, he was a member of the Victorian Bar and Chancery Chambers in Melbourne, Victoria. There, he practised for more than 20 years in commercial litigation, specialising in building, construction, infrastructure and energy disputes. Prior to that, his Honour’s legal career started in Brisbane in the Public Defender’s Office, then associate to the late Judge J.P. Kimmins, then as a law clerk at Blake Dawson Waldron, before being called to the Bar there in 1990.

Catherine Green

Ms. Catherine Green has her own private practice as an arbitrator, adjudicator, and mediator taking appointments with respect to both commercial and construction disputes. She is also the Executive Director of the New Zealand International Arbitration Centre (NZIAC) as well as its related domestic registry services, which cover a full spectrum of commercial, building and construction, and family and relationship disputes.

Construction Disputes

Ms. Jo Delaney moderated the session and talked about the construction developments in the South Pacific, the features of construction dispute resolution, the best practices in construction arbitration, and the types of construction disputes.