Civil Transactions Law (contracts dated before 1 June 2026) · Federal Law 5 of 1985
Article 878
Section 3: Contracts of work > Chapter One: Muqawala (contract to make a thing or to perform a task) > Part 2: Effects of a muqawala > 1- Obligations of the contractor
This law is repealed. The article applies to contracts dated before 1 June 2026; later contracts fall under the 2025 Civil Transactions Law.
English translation
The contractor shall be liable for any loss or damage resulting from his act or work whether arising through his wrongful act or default or not, but he shall not be liable if it arises out of an event which could not have been prevented.
Official translation, as published by the portal.
Official Arabic text
يضمن المقاول ما تولد عن فعله وصنعه من ضرر أو خسارة سواء أكان بتعديه أو بتقصيره أم لا وينتفي الضمان إذا نجم ذلك عن حادث لا يمكن التحرز منه.
What it means when you sign
This article makes the contractor liable for any loss or damage resulting from the contractor's own act or work, whether or not it came about through the contractor's wrongful act or default. The contractor is not liable, however, if the loss arises out of an event that could not have been prevented.
When you are about to sign a contract of this kind, this article means that the contractor's responsibility for damage caused by their own work does not depend on proving fault. It is enough that the damage resulted from the contractor's act or work. The exception is an event that could not have been avoided. Clauses worth reading are those on liability, damage to property, responsibility for the work until handover and any wording about events outside a party's control, since the article describes only unpreventable events as removing liability. A clause that limits or excludes this responsibility should be read against the text, and a clause defining which events count as unavoidable may matter too.
Not yet cited in a Fahm report; shown because it sits in the same chapter as one that is.
Related articles
- Article 876This article says who supplies the additional equipment and tools needed to complete a job under a contract to make a thing or perform a task.
- Article 877Cited in Fahm reportsThis article requires the contractor to complete the work in accordance with the conditions of the contract.
- Article 879This article deals with a contractor who holds property while waiting to be paid.
- Article 880Cited in Fahm reportsThis article covers buildings and other fixed installations where an architect makes the plans and the contractor carries them out under the architect's supervision.
- Article 881This article deals with an architect whose work is limited to making the plans and does not include supervising how they are carried out.
- Article 882Cited in Fahm reportsThis article makes void any agreement whose purpose is to exempt the contractor or the architect from liability, or to limit that liability.