Dubai : A new university course in Dubai is exploring ways of settling legal disputes in the construction industry outside the court system.
The Construction Law and Dispute Resolution master's degree from the British University in Dubai focuses on arbitration as an alternative to court cases.
Dr Haitham Haloush, a senior lecturer there, said budding lawyers and engineers will troubleshoot questions from the UAE construction sector as part of the course.
Vantage point
"There are so many technical disputes; the court system is not capable of handling all of them well. Arbitration is like a private judicial system, which has an advantage of specialised expertise.
"It's less expensive, less time-consuming and more efficient," said Dr Haloush, who has a doctorate in law from Leeds University in the UK.
The university faculty and management are in talks with Dubai Courts to secure greater access to details of cases related to construction disputes, he added.
"As far as I know, there are only seven or eight universities worldwide that offer this kind of a programme," said Dr Haloush, who was previously an Assistant Professor of Law at The Hashemite University in Jordan.
Tuition fees
The Dh84,000 one-year programme is offered in association with the Centre of Construction Law and Dispute Resolution at King's College London and accredited by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
