Dubai Courts Rule on Expert Reports for Construction Disputes

On 13 September 2021, the Dubai Courts issued Circular No. 9/2021, requiring an approved expert-prepared technical report to be filed alongside a statement of claim connected to construction, liquidation, or intellectual property disputes before the claim will be accepted. The Circular directs the Dubai Courts’ case management office to refuse registration of any claim in these three categories unless it’s substantiated by a report from an authorized court expert, registered with the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes, an entity affiliated with the Dubai Courts and established under Dubai Law No. 16/2009.

This guide covers why the Circular requires this, how it interacts with a later court-appointed expert, the legal framework behind it (including an important update since the Circular was issued), time-bar considerations, and practical steps for plaintiffs preparing a claim.

Why a Court Expert Report Is Required

The Circular explains this requirement as a response to the inherent complexity of construction, liquidation, and intellectual property disputes. Attaching an approved expert report to the claim statement helps prepare the case more thoroughly and supports faster trial proceedings once the claim is before the court. The Circular doesn’t prevent an authorized expert from collaborating with other experts, reports produced jointly by an approved expert alongside third-party or international experts, including those from the DIFC or other emirates such as Abu Dhabi, aren’t restricted under the Circular.

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How This Interacts With a Later Court-Appointed Expert

Filing an authorized expert’s report to get the claim registered isn’t the end of the expert process in these cases. This initial report doesn’t supersede or replace the court’s own ability to appoint its own expert later in proceedings, under the court expert appointment provisions of the current Civil Procedures Law. In practice, the Circular’s report requirement functions as a gateway condition that gets a technically complex claim properly registered and moving, while the substantive technical findings the court ultimately relies on for judgment can still come from a separately appointed court expert as the case develops. Plaintiffs shouldn’t treat the initial filing report as the final or only expert input the case will involve.

Time Bar Considerations

The Circular’s wording is broad and appears to extend across judicial circuits, potentially including the Dubai Appeals and Cassation Courts, not just the Dubai Primary Court, though this scope hasn’t been definitively clarified in the Circular’s own text. This additional prerequisite is a meaningful factor for plaintiffs to weigh against time restrictions, since preparing an expert report inevitably adds to the time needed before a claim can be filed.

The general statute of limitations for civil and commercial actions in the UAE typically runs between two and fifteen years, giving plaintiffs considerable time to prepare in most cases. However, appeal timelines are much tighter: a Dubai Primary Court judgment must be appealed to the Dubai Appeals Court within thirty calendar days, and the Dubai Cassation Court must examine an Appeals Court verdict within sixty calendar days of notice. Given the Circular’s ambiguity on whether it extends beyond the Primary Court, plaintiffs should factor in the possibility of needing an expert report before proceeding to a higher court, rather than assuming the requirement is confined to first-instance filing.

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Time Constraints for Urgent Requests

Urgency adds another layer of pressure. Contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and others often first seek an urgent matters court to obtain a freezing order against a performance guarantee connected to a disputed project. Where a judge approves such a restraining order, it’s typically conditioned on the plaintiff filing a substantive claim with the trial court within eight calendar days. Under the Circular’s requirement, plaintiffs must produce an authorized expert’s report within that same eight-day window, if they don’t, the case management office will decline to register the claim, and once the eight days lapse, the injunction against liquidation of the performance guarantee becomes void. This makes early engagement of an authorized expert genuinely time-critical in urgent matters, not a formality that can be arranged after the freezing order is secured.

Legal Framework: An Important Update

The Circular’s original text ties back to provisions of the older Civil Procedures Law (Federal Law No. 11 of 1992, as revised by Cabinet Resolutions 57/2018 and 75/2021), including Article 16(2)(e) on claim statement content, Article 17(3) on the case management office’s responsibilities including expert reports, and Article 20(1) on documentation required at registration.

This underlying framework has since changed. The UAE introduced a new Civil Procedure Law, Federal Law No. 42 of 2022, which came into force on 2 January 2023, replacing the 1992 law the Circular originally referenced. While the Circular’s core requirement, an authorized expert report for construction, liquidation, and IP claims, remains a live and enforced practice, the specific article numbers the Circular cites reflect the superseded law rather than the current framework. Anyone relying on this Circular for litigation strategy should confirm the corresponding provisions under the current Civil Procedure Law rather than citing the original 1992-law article numbers directly.

Practical Steps for Plaintiffs

• Engage an authorized expert early. Given the eight-day window in urgent matters and the general added preparation time in ordinary claims, don’t wait until the claim is otherwise ready to start this process.
• Confirm the expert’s registration status. Only reports from experts registered with the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes satisfy the Circular’s requirement.
• Plan for the possibility of appellate-level requirements. Given the Circular’s ambiguous scope beyond the Primary Court, prepare as though the requirement could apply at higher court levels too.
• Don’t treat the filing report as the final word. Be prepared for a court-appointed expert to become involved later in the proceedings, with their findings potentially carrying significant weight in the eventual judgment.
• Verify current procedural citations. Confirm the applicable Civil Procedure Law provisions under Federal Law No. 42 of 2022 rather than relying on the Circular’s original 1992-law references.

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How Farahat & Co. Can Help

Farahat & Co. provides authorized court expert witness services for construction, liquidation, and intellectual property disputes before the Dubai Courts and across the UAE.

Contact Farahat & Co. today to discuss your court expert report requirements.