Statutory construction ADR comes to Dubai

Dubai's Law No. (8) of 2025 is a major step, mandating alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for low-value construction disputes that involves mediation and adjudication by specialist committees, states STUART JORDAN*, who sees this as a successful model for fast, effective redress that will preserve relationships.

- 

I HAVE previously discussed the benefits of statutory adjudication and speculated about whether it would be adopted in the Gulf. So how about this: a new law has been announced in Dubai which mandates alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for certain construction disputes. The new law applies only to specific types of dispute below a threshold value, and arising within a particular sector of construction in Dubai, but it is important because it shares the same objectives and it mandates similar methods as have become such common features of our industry across the common law world, most notably in the form of statutory adjudication.

This is Dubai Law No. (8) of 2025 which was issued on July 21, 2025 and will come into force on January 1, 2026. We have not yet seen the full text of the new law but the announced details are interesting. It introduces a fast-track ADR procedure for the resolution of certain disputes arising in the construction of housing owned by UAE citizens. Coverage is limited to disputes with a value of less than AED10 million ($2.72 million) and to prescribed categories of dispute, although these cover the most common ones, being:

• Delays in payment;

• Change orders (scope variations);

• Schedule delays;

• Defects; and

• Contract breach.