“Extremely intelligent and diligent practitioner with an easy and cooperative approach”, “always keeps his focus on the practical issues”, “possesses deep insight into cross-border issues.”
Biography
Dr. Dimitar Kondev is counsel working in the International Arbitration Group in Paris. His practice includes construction law in general, construction disputes and international commercial arbitration. He advises clients on both contentious and non-contentious matters. He has experience in various sectors, including commercial development, energy and infrastructure.
Prior to joining White & Case, Dimitar gained experience as a senior associate at the largest law firm in Bulgaria where he provided legal advice on all aspects and all stages of large-scale construction projects.
Dimitar is the author of the monograph "Multi-Party and Multi-Contract Construction Arbitration" (OUP, 2025), now in its second edition. Dimitar has also published several articles on construction law and dispute resolution.
Dimitar is registered as dispute adjudicator under the Bulgarian list of FIDIC dispute adjudication experts. He participated in the legal review of the 2017 FIDIC suite of contracts, the FIDIC Emerald Book (2019), the FIDIC Green Book (2021), and the FIDIC Bronze Book (forthcoming publication). Dimitar is the current principal drafter of the FIDIC Bronze Book and a member of FIDIC Contracts Committee Task Group 22 for the development and publication of an EPCM Form of Contract. He also acted as a Core Group Member advising on the preparation of Conditions of Collaborative Contract for Integrated Fusion Project Delivery, which was released in 2025. Dimitar was also a member of the IBA Working Group on the practice of the UNIDROIT Principles which published the "Perspectives in Practice of the UNIDROIT Principles 2016" (International Law Institute 2018). Dimitar has developed a course in international construction law at the Aarhus University, Denmark, which he has been teaching since 2014.
Experience
Dimitar's experience includes representation of:
- A consortium comprised of French contractors in an ad hoc arbitration subject to the UNCITRAL Rules related to an airport rehabilitation project in Eastern Africa concerning disputes arising under a contract based on the FIDIC Pink Book, including disputes related to calls on on-demand bank guarantees subject to the ICC Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG 758);
- An Eastern European public entity in an ICC arbitration in connection with a road construction project in an Eastern European country in relation to disputes arising under a FIDIC Red Book contract, including disputes regarding a call on an on-demand bank guarantee subject to URDG 758;
- A public entity in an ICC arbitration in connection with a road construction project in the Caucasus concerning disputes arising under a FIDIC Red Book contract;
- A public entity from the Caucasus in relation to the possible termination of a contract based on the FIDIC Pink Book in relation to the construction of a water supply system;
- An international organization in dispute adjudication proceedings concerning the development of a fusion device in continental Europe in relation to disputes arising under a contract based on the FIDIC Yellow Book;
- A European main contractor in relation to disputes over the construction of a large dam infrastructure project in Central Asia arising under a FIDIC Silver Book contract;
- An employer in a DIAC arbitration in relation to disputes arising under a FIDIC Pink Book contract concerning the construction of a large multi-functional, retail and leisure complex in the Middle East;
- A large power producer, acting as owner, in an ICC arbitration against a general contractor in relation to disputes arising under a bespoke contract concerning the construction of a combined cycle power plant in West Africa;
- A main contractor in one of the world's largest infrastructure projects located in Central America in ICC arbitrations against the employer;
- A petrochemical company, acting as owner, in relation to disputes against a general contractor arising under an EPC Contract in connection with the construction of a polypropylene plant in Central Asia;
- A European construction company in an ICC arbitration in connection with the construction of a hydroelectric project in South America;
- A French company and affiliated companies in relation to the drafting and negotiation of construction contracts and related subcontracts and supply agreements concerning various data centre projects in continental Europe and the United Kingdom;
- A major Israeli real estate investment company in arbitration proceedings against a contractor regarding the construction of a large multi-functional, retail and leisure complex in Bulgaria in relation to disputes arising under a FIDIC Red Book contract;
- A leading Italian industrial technology company in a project concerning the development of a low & medium voltage electrical components facility near Plovdiv, Bulgaria, based on a FIDIC Yellow Book contract;
- Major Dutch, Israeli, Irish and Scottish investment companies in respect of the acquisition of commercial properties and the development of large multi-functional complexes in Bulgaria;
- An established integrated electricity conglomerate on the drafting of an EPCM Contract in connection with the development of a 880 MW CCGT power plant in Bulgaria; and
- Major Austrian and Chinese financial institutions in relation to the acquisition, construction and sale of a number of renewable energy projects in Bulgaria.
Future Leaders, Construction, Lexology Index (former Who’s Who Legal), 2019-2025
"Extremely intelligent and diligent practitioner" with an "easy and cooperative approach", "always keeps his focus on the practical issues", "possesses "deep insight into cross-border issues."
Magna Cum Laude, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam (2011)
Huygens Scholarship Programme (2010)
Principal organizer and lecturer of an intensive summer course in international construction law, Aarhus University, Denmark (held annually in July/August)
"The impact of COVID-19 on construction contracts based on the FIDIC Conditions of Contract", a webinar organized by BACEA (FIDIC's Member Association in Bulgaria), April 2020
"The FIDIC Conditions of Subcontract: the Conditions of Subcontract for Construction 1st edition (1999) and the Conditions of Subcontract for Plant and Design 1st edition (2019)", an event organized by BACEA (FIDIC's Member Association in Bulgaria), Sofia, Bulgaria (March 2020)
"Multi-Party and Multi-Contract Arbitration", working breakfast organized by CIArb Paris Chapter (October 2018)
"Official presentation of the new FIDIC Books", an event organized by BACEA (FIDIC's Member Association in Bulgaria), Sofia, Bulgaria (September 2018)
"Recent Trends in International Commercial Arbitration", presentation at the monthly call of Division 8: International Construction at the American Bar Association (ABA) (August 2018)
"The New FIDIC Suite of Contracts. Overview of the Major Changes", an event organized by the Bulgarian Union of Jurists, the Bulgarian Society of Construction Law and the Bulgarian Association for Project Management in Construction (May 2018)
"Multi-Party and Multi-Contract Arbitration in the Construction Industry", 41st CIArb ADR Forum organized by CIArb Ireland and the Society of Construction Law, Dublin, Ireland (March 2018)
"Can Arbitral Rules Resolve Multi-Party/Multi-Contract Construction Disputes?", Annual Conference of the European Society of Construction Law (ESCL), Milan, Italy (October 2014)
Multi-Party and Multi-Contract Construction Arbitration, 2nd edition, OUP, Oxford, 2025
"How should the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak be managed on projects under FIDIC and NEC?" (2020; co-author)
Country Report "Bulgaria", in Perspectives in Practice of the UNIDROIT Principles 2016, Views of the IBA Working Group on the practice of the UNIDROIT Principles 2016, International Bar Association (2019)
Multi-Party and Multi-Contract Arbitration in the Construction Industry, Wiley Blackwell, Chichester, 2017
"Statutory Approaches to Multi-Party/Multi-Contract Construction Arbitration", in 19 Vindobona Journal of International Commercial Law and Arbitration, no. 1 (2015), pp. 191-127, reprinted in Albert H. Dib (ed.), Legal Handbook for Architects, Engineers and Contractors, Issues in Construction and Technology 2015/2016, Volume 32 (2016), Thomson Reuters, pp. 323-351
"Joint Adjudication of Related Disputes under NEC3", in 10 Construction Law International, no. 4 (2015), pp. 13-18
"Is Dispute Adjudication under FIDIC Contracts for Major Works Indeed a Precondition to Arbitration?", in 31 International Construction Law Review, no 3 (2014), pp. 256-268
"Do Recent Overhauls of Arbitration Rules Respond to the Need for Multi-Party Arbitration in the Construction Industry?", in 32 International Construction Law Review, no. 1 (2015), pp. 63-94
