Construction Management Guide

By Leonora Riesenburg

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is fast becoming a widely-accepted alternative to local court litigation. This is particularly true of arbitration.

Oddly, mediation is still heavily underused, which begs the question whether there is room for wider subscription in the UAE? In cultures where contracts are not always regarded as rigorous terms of engagement but rather as a framework intended to govern a commercial relationship, mediation is particularly well-placed to serve the settlement of differences at arm’s length before they escalate. [Read more…]

by Hani Al Naddaf & Sarah Kelly

By DAVID JOHNSTON

PROFESSIONAL consultants are engaged on construction projects to provide specialist advice. The type of consultants appointed can range from architects, mechanical and structural engineers and surveyors to specialist consultants in fields such as safety, planning and traffic management.

Yet the terms of the professional appointments under which each tends to be engaged are very similar, with only the services schedules being truly distinct. [Read more…]

The UAE is striving to become an attractive venue for regional and international arbitration, and to establish itself as the arbitration capital of the Middle East. Since the UAE ratified the New York Convention in 2006, the UAE Courts have significantly changed their approach to the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. This provides for a positive and encouraging perspective which – in addition to the modern infrastructure of the UAE and its strategic geographic location – will likely make Dubai the venue of choice for arbitration in the Middle East. [Read more…]

By Hassna Al Hais
The UAE has rapidly emerged as a leading financial centre, attracting large global investors and businesses, and as international developers and contractors continue to invest in construction projects, there has been an increasing trend in the use of arbitration in Dubai. The arbitration process is the preferred method to resolve disputes by commercial companies as; the certified language of arbitration proceedings is in English, a specialist tribunal can be appointed as opposed to the broader UAE courts, and arbitration is generally more cost effective and less time consuming. This has led businesses and investors in the UAE to ensure that arbitration clauses or arbitration agreements are inserted into their contracts. Furthermore, the downturn in economic conditions in the real estate market over the last few years has led to an increase in disputes in general, and parties are more likely to issue court proceedings than to try to recover their losses through other ventures. [Read more…]

by Stuart Matthews

A recent circular form Dubai Municipality has mandated the use of BIM for some construction projects, according to Paul Wallett of Tekla.

Effective from December, the full details of the circular’s impact on the construction industry in the emirate are still be analysed. [Read more…]

An arbitrator can be appointed; directly by name (this is not the common method used), through the Court or through the Arbitration centre. If you agree for the Court or Arbitration centre to appoint an Arbitrator you need to make an application.The arbitration provisions of the Civil Procedure Code contain mandatory provisions concerning the appointment of an Arbitrator. There must be an odd number of arbitrators e.g. 1, 3, 5, 7 arbitrators (although there is no limit set on the number of arbitrators). The arbitrator must also satisfy certain other requirements – he must not under The UAE Civil Procedure Code, Federal Law No. (11) of 1992, Article 206: [Read more…]

By Parag Deulgaonkar

Dubai developers are set to commence work on several mega projects in the coming months in order to complete and deliver them much earlier than 2020.

“The Expo 2020 win for Dubai is a significant milestone, and this will definitely translate into exponential growth across a wide array of sectors, namely hospitality, tourism, trade, shipping and logistics as well as real estate,” Khalid Bin Kalban, CEO, Dubai Investments, told Emirates 24|7. [Read more…]

By Clare Raven
The International Bar Association (IBA) is a worldwide association of legal practitioners, with a membership of over 50,000 individual lawyers and over 200 law societies and bar associations. The IBA seeks to “influence the development of international law reform throughout the world.” In May 2013, the Arbitration Committee published Guidelines on Party Representation in International Arbitration.

[Read more…]