Construction Disputes - What Are The Common Issues In Dispute?

Clients regularly ask how the Dubai construction market is doing since the financial crisis hit in late 2008. From our perspective, it appears that the market remains uneasy due to the stream of enquiries and instructions pertaining to disputes in construction projects. Over the last couple of years, we have acted, and continue to act, in numerous construction disputes (both arbitration and litigation), the total amount of money in dispute runs into billions of dirhams.

Given the above, you may be curious to know if there are any common themes or issues running through the disputes handled. Not all disputes arise simply because one of the contracting parties is unable to pay as a result of its cash flow being affected by the financial crisis. From experience, there are numerous contractual or legal issues that tend to push parties to a full-blown dispute. The following sets out five of such issues: