FIDIC / Legal Reference: Not FIDIC-specific — quantum methodology concept
A construction claim that does not identify a direct causal link between specific employer-risk events and specific items of loss, instead presenting all losses collectively and attributing them in aggregate to a pool of qualifying events. Global claims are strongly disfavoured by construction tribunals.
What it means in practice
The difficulty with a global claim is that it prevents the tribunal from assessing whether each element of the claim is actually caused by the qualifying events, or whether some of the loss is attributable to the contractor’s own inefficiency or bad planning. A tribunal that cannot make that assessment is likely to reject the global claim entirely.
English courts have accepted global claims in exceptional circumstances where individual causation analysis is genuinely impracticable. But this is a narrow exception. The better approach is to prepare properly particularised claims from the outset.
Where disputes arise
Global claims are frequently the result of inadequate contract administration and claims record-keeping during the project. Contractors who have not maintained systematic notice registers, contemporaneous cost records, and programme updates are often forced to present global claims retrospectively — with poor results.
UAE Context
DIAC tribunals have been particularly sceptical of global claims. In several UAE construction arbitrations, global claims have been rejected in their entirety where the contractor failed to establish individual causation for each head of loss.
Related terms
If your claim has been characterised as a global claim, e-Basel can assess whether particularisation is possible and advise on the best strategy for presentation.
Construction Claims Consultant UAE →Search terms: global claim construction UAE · rolled-up claim FIDIC · construction claim causation · global claim rejection UAE · particularised claim construction
