Midlands law firm in Dubai call over construction disputes

Mar 31 2009 by Tom Scotney, Birmingham Post

The UK should follow the example of Dubai in construction to stop disputes holding up development, a Midlands law firm has said.

With reports that the Dubai Government is about to pass a law that will require all construction disputes to go through a mediation centre before they can be litigated in the courts, Chris Duffill, the regional director of the Vinden Partnership, has called for similar action to be taken in the UK.

The Dubai Mediation Centre, which launches next month, aims to speed up the settlement process and resolve as many civil property disputes as possible. Only unresolved cases will be passed for judgement within the Property Court.

Although the property market has slowed because of the global financial crisis, the emirate of Dubai has seen one of the most rapid phases of construction and development in history, with some of the largest and most ambitious buildings on earth being constructed there.

But it has been accused of exploiting labourers from South Asia in the rush to develop what was little more than a desert backwater a few decades ago into a world business hub.

Mr Duffill said: “My feeling is that the Dubai Government has got this absolutely right and that a similar system should be introduced in the UK.

“Those of us who earn a living from the construction industry are living in difficult times. Work is scarce, margins are tighter than ever and we are all living in fear of what the banks will do next. Contractors and sub-contractors are chasing money like never before and this inevitably means more disputes.

“Whilst our colleagues in Dubai are experiencing similar problems, their solution is highly sensible and one that I will be watching with keen interest. Many lawyers will argue that to mediate a dispute before it has been fully argued out in pleadings with the accompanying disclosure means it is likely to fail. But I disagree.

“It may be true that the legal argument would not have been fully rehearsed between parties at an early mediation but it cuts both ways simply because the parties will have the advantage of not having incurred the associated legal costs.

“In my experience, business people are capable of factoring risk associated with early mediation and cases that are conducted because of a need rather than a desire to resolve, are always going to be difficult. This shouldn’t, however, stop this sort of legislation going through.”