UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Duncan Pickering, Nicola de Sylva, Sean Cope and Marta Almeida, DLA Piper Middle East LLP
Eviction There may be specific notice requirements that apply for specific types of eviction (see 6.21 Forced Eviction ). 7. Construction 7.1 Common Structures Used to Price Construction Projects Pricing structures will vary according to the nature of the works. The most common pricing structures are: • lump sum – a pre-agreed sum that the contractor will be paid to perform the works under the construction contract; • measurement or unit price – whereby the work is measured and valued on the basis of a bill of quantities; • prime cost – payment is made for the costs of labour and materials used; and • cost plus – payment is made for the prime cost, plus an added percentage for profit. Payment is usually made against the certification of completed works by an engineer appointed by the employer. 7.2 Assigning Responsibility for the Design and Construction of a Project Whilst there is no local standard suite for private sector construction contracts in the UAE, many construction contracts for major projects in the UAE are based on the industry standard form of contracts published by the International Federa - tion of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) (with appro - priate project specific amendments), and such responsibility for design and construction is allo - cated contractually in accordance with standard international practice, depending on the specific requirements of the project. In relation to public
sector construction contracts, Abu Dhabi has mandated the use of its Abu Dhabi Government Construction Contract for all government capi - tal construction projects managed by Abu Dhabi Government entities; however, such form of con - tract is based on the FIDIC form. 7.3 Management of Construction Risk The contractual devices included in the FIDIC standard forms of contract are typically used to manage risk allocation in the context of a construction project (however, the standard FIDIC conditions of contract are often amended by employers to transfer additional risk to the contractor). While the majority of the standard FIDIC provisions are generally viewed as being enforceable under UAE law, the Civil Code pro - vides that an agreement or a contractual provi - sion will be unenforceable if: • it conflicts with a mandatory provision of the law; • it is contrary to public order or morals; • it is performed in bad faith; or • a right is exercised in an unlawful manner (including where the benefit realised is dis - proportionate to the harm suffered by others, or where the interests sought to be realised conflict with Sharia). Any parts of an agreement that conflict with or are inconsistent with such mandatory provisions will either be rendered automatically void or will provide the courts with the power to adjust the agreement to ensure consistency with manda - tory provisions. 7.4 Management of Schedule-Related Risk Virtually all construction contracts in the UAE require the works to be completed by a speci - fied date.
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