Decennial Liability under UAE Law (Articles 880-883 of Law No. 5 of 1985)
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Date
2018-03
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The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
Abstract
Decennial Liability is an exceptional liability in UAE, under Articles 880 to 883 of Law No. 5 of
1985. According to this provision of the Law, the Architect / Engineer (A/E) and the Contractor
are jointly and severally liable to the Employer, for partial, or total collapse, or defects
threatening the stability, or safety of the structure. Since decennial liability is a matter of public
policy, it cannot be exempted or contracted out. Due to the paucity of literature and lack of
published data with regard to the implementation and specific liability to A/E and the Contractor
in various methods of procurements and executions models, there is prevalent misapprehension
and presumptions among the construction professionals about application of certain provisions of
the law. Decennial liability provisions in UAE Law appears to have drafted considering to
projects procured through the traditional procurement route. However, in recent decades, new
procurement methods and technologies have developed in the construction industry and it is
likely that the current provisions of the Law have not addressed the specific liability implications
and stakeholders of these new methods and technologies.
This dissertation aims to examine the provisions of the decennial liability law of UAE to clarify
and dispel prevalent misapprehensions and presumptions of construction professionals and
analyze whether the provisions are applicable / sufficient enough for projects procured under
new procurement methods and structures built using new technologies. In addition, this
dissertation compares the provisions on decennial liability under UAE law with similar
provisions in other GCC countries, Egypt and French law. This study will enlighten the
constructional professionals about the decennial liability law in practice around the region and
the research findings of this study may be used as guidance for contractual and legal liabilities
they are subject to, for the latent defects.
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Keywords
Decennial Liability, United Arab Emirates (UAE), UAE law, construction professionals, law