On a construction project, the legal position and the commercial outcome are inseparable. How risk is allocated in the contract, how claims are notified and proved, and how disputes are resolved will often determine whether a project finishes on time, on budget and without litigation. ABR Advocates & Legal Consultants advises across the entire life of a project — from the contract that sets it up, through the claims that arise during delivery, to the arbitration that may follow — for clients building in the UAE’s demanding construction market.
Construction in the UAE sits on two foundations. The first is the country’s own law: the muqawala (works-contract) provisions of the Civil Transactions Law (Federal Law No. 5 of 1985), which govern the relationship between employer and contractor, and the regime of decennial liability — the ten-year liability of the contractor and supervising engineer for defects that threaten the structural safety of a building, which cannot be excluded by agreement. The second is the suite of international standard-form contracts, above all the FIDIC forms, which most significant projects in the region adopt and adapt. Effective construction advice means working fluently in both at once — reading a FIDIC clause against the mandatory provisions of UAE law that may override or qualify it.
The cheapest dispute is the one designed out at the contract stage. We draft and negotiate construction contracts that allocate risk deliberately rather than by default, and we have particular depth in the FIDIC forms — the Red Book (employer-designed, re-measurement), the Yellow Book (contractor-designed plant and design-build), the Silver Book (EPC/turnkey) and the Gold Book (design-build-operate) — advising on the amendments that make each fit a specific project and the UAE legal context.
Most construction value is won or lost during delivery, through claims. We advise on and prosecute time-related claims for delay and disruption, financial claims arising from variations and non-payment, and claims concerning defective workmanship or materials, as well as the rights and consequences that attach to contract termination. The emphasis throughout is on the discipline that makes a claim succeed: timely notice, contemporaneous records, and a credible analysis linking cause to effect and to loss.
The construction sector overwhelmingly prefers arbitration to court litigation, for its technical tribunals, confidentiality and cross-border enforceability, and most FIDIC contracts route disputes there. We represent parties in construction arbitration before institutions such as DIAC, the ICC and the LCIA, and we advise on the distinct liabilities of design professionals — the consultant and engineer liability that can arise from design error or negligent supervision. We bring this same capability to mega-projects and infrastructure, where scale, multiple contracts and many stakeholders multiply the legal complexity.
We advise every kind of participant in the built environment — developers and project owners, main contractors and subcontractors, consultants, engineers and government entities. Acting across these roles gives us a rounded view of how risk really moves through a project, and lets us anticipate the argument on the other side of any claim.
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Ask a questionWhether you are about to sign a contract, managing a claim mid-project, or facing arbitration, early advice protects your position. Contact ABR Advocates & Legal Consultants to discuss your project.
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