Jurisdiction
GCC construction delay: read this first
This section names a country, a legal system and a source type on every proposition. Civil-code provisions, contract mechanisms, published judgments and arbitral practice do different jobs and are not interchangeable.
- Jurisdiction
- GCC, treated country by country
- Law and editions as at
- 3 August 2026
- Last reviewed
- 3 August 2026
- Editorial status
- Editorial draft, not yet independently reviewed
This page is not GCC law
It identifies countries, legal systems and source types. Check the Arabic original and obtain advice on the governing law and the forum. Where no public decision supports a proposition, this site says that no public primary decision was located rather than filling the gap with consultancy or arbitral folklore.
United Arab Emirates
Primary law Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 issuing the Civil Transactions Law took effect on 1 June 2026 and repealed Federal Law No. 5 of 1985, subject to transitional questions that require advice. The official portal cautions that the Arabic text prevails.
The practical consequences are immediate. Cite the new law for propositions after commencement. Explain when accrued rights or older disputes may need transitional analysis. Distinguish mainland UAE courts from the DIFC and ADGM, which are separate legal systems. Treat the arbitration law and institutional rules separately from substantive contract law.
Saudi Arabia
Primary law The Civil Transactions Law issued by Royal Decree M/191 became effective in December 2023. An officially hosted English text is an aid and should be verified against the Arabic.
Good-faith performance, damages and the nominate contract provisions are the usual starting points, without claiming that codification makes every construction question settled. Transitional scope and public procurement rules need separate treatment.
Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait
- Qatar: Civil Code, Law No. 22 of 2004, including binding force, good faith, hardship and construction provisions, with the Arbitration Law No. 2 of 2017 separate.
- Bahrain: Civil Code, Legislative Decree No. 19 of 2001. Arabic primary.
- Oman: Civil Transactions Law, Royal Decree No. 29/2013. Arabic primary.
- Kuwait: the Ministry of Justice legislation index, including Law No. 67 of 1980 promulgating the Civil Code. Arabic primary.
How propositions are stated in this section
Five columns: the proposition, the source, the source class, the binding status, and whether the translation was checked against the Arabic original. Where a public decision cannot be located, the page says so.
Why the case-study shelf looks different here
Because public judgments and awards are uneven, GCC material on this site is published as legal mechanism and teaching dossiers rather than as case notes, unless a citable public decision exists. Each carries a banner saying it is a teaching scenario or code analysis and not a reported binding precedent. That is more honest than dressing commentary or a confidential award as law.
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Where the record comes in
Every mechanism on this page turns on evidence: what happened, what was known and when. A record built as the job happens is worth more than any argument assembled afterwards. Construction Metric keeps that record automatically, from the messages, photographs and voice notes a site team already sends.
Built by AI Metric
The analysis on this site is only as fast as the evidence behind it. AI Metric builds bespoke systems for consultancies, contractors and claims teams: document and correspondence triage, event registers assembled from the project record, programme and cost reconciliation, and drafting support that always cites the document it came from. Built for review by your own experts, never to replace their judgement.
Do not overread this page
Nothing on this page is advice on the law of any GCC country. Arabic texts prevail, transitional questions require advice, and the free-zone systems are separate from the mainland courts.
General explanation of how contract mechanisms, analysis methods and legal principles generally work. It is not legal or contractual advice, not an opinion on any project, and no standard-form contract wording is reproduced anywhere on this site. Standard forms are routinely amended, so every default described here, including every time period, can be different on your project. Your executed contract, as amended, and the governing law and forum always control. Deadlines may already be running: if an event has occurred, preserve your position and take qualified advice.