In short: Force majeure in the UAE isn't about a contract becoming inconvenient, expensive, or unprofitable — it requires genuine impossibility of performance. Since 1 June 2026, the rules sit in Article 236 of the new Civil Transactions Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025). If performance is merely more painful, not actually impossible, you're usually looking at a different legal concept — hardship, under Article 224 — with different consequences.

The single most important distinction: impossible vs merely painful

This is where most force majeure arguments fall apart. The law asks whether performance became genuinely impossible — not whether it became more expensive, less profitable, logistically harder, or commercially unattractive. A contractor who can technically still get the materials, just at a much higher cost, hasn't hit force majeure. They might have a hardship argument instead — a related but legally distinct concept with different consequences.

So the real question isn't "did something extraordinary happen?" It's "did that event actually make this specific obligation impossible to perform?" Those are very different questions, and conflating them is the most common mistake in force majeure disputes.

Important: the law changed on 1 June 2026

If you're reading an older contract, template, or article, it may still reference the old 1985 Civil Code — Article 273 for force majeure, Article 287 for external-cause liability. Those numbers no longer apply. The UAE's new Civil Transactions Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025) took over from 1 June 2026, and the key articles are now: Article 236 for force majeure and impossibility, Article 224 for hardship/exceptional circumstances, Article 249 for liability caused by an external event, and Article 428 for extinguishing an obligation due to impossibility. Worth checking which regime actually applies to your dates and events before relying on either version.

What you actually need to prove

  • Beyond your control — the event can't be something you caused through your own negligence or poor preparation.
  • Genuinely unforeseeable — UAE courts have previously rejected a factory breakdown as force majeure precisely because ordinary equipment failure is something a business should reasonably anticipate and guard against.
  • Unavoidable — not just that the event happened, but that its effect on your ability to perform couldn't reasonably have been worked around.
  • Actually made performance impossible — not merely more expensive or difficult.
  • Directly caused your non-performance — you can't point to a general crisis "somewhere in the background" if your own pre-existing problems were the real reason you didn't deliver.

What happens once force majeure is established

  • Total impossibility — the affected obligations end, and the contract is automatically cancelled.
  • Partial impossibility — only the affected part of the obligation is extinguished, or either party can ask a court to cancel the contract; the rest of the deal can carry on.
  • Temporary impossibility in ongoing contracts (like supply or service agreements) — either party may rely on extinguishing the affected obligation, seek to modify the contract, or ask a court to cancel it, depending on the circumstances.

When it's really 'hardship,' not force majeure

Say a contractor agreed to source specific material for a fixed price, and an extraordinary event makes that material dramatically more expensive — but still legally and physically available. That's not force majeure, because performance is still possible. It may instead fall under Article 224's hardship doctrine, which applies where unforeseen, exceptional public circumstances make performance so financially damaging that it threatens the debtor with serious loss, even though it hasn't become impossible.

The remedy is different too — a court can reduce the burdensome obligation to something more reasonable, or order the contract cancelled, after weighing both sides' interests. And notably, any contract clause trying to override this hardship protection is void — parties can't contract their way out of it.

Common situations, and how they usually shake out

  • Supply chain disruption — if the goods are available from another supplier, just at higher cost, that's usually not force majeure. If the contract genuinely requires that one specific supplier and no substitute exists, it's a stronger argument.
  • Port or route closure — depends entirely on whether an alternative route exists. "20% more expensive but still possible" generally isn't force majeure.
  • Government order — only helps if it directly makes your specific obligation legally impossible, not just harder or costlier to comply with.
  • Destruction of a unique item — a strong, classic force majeure scenario, since a genuinely irreplaceable item that's destroyed makes performance truly impossible.
  • Rising material prices — almost never force majeure on its own; if the materials are still obtainable, this is a hardship question at best.

What to actually do if you think force majeure applies

  • Check your contract's force majeure clause first — it may define qualifying events and notice deadlines that sit alongside (or instead of) the statutory rules.
  • Identify precisely which obligation is affected — don't analyse the event in the abstract.
  • Work out honestly whether performance is impossible, or just painful.
  • Consider genuine alternatives — another supplier, another route, delayed or partial performance.
  • Preserve evidence as you go: government notices, correspondence, shipping documents, cost comparisons.
  • Give notice promptly, following whatever your contract requires.
  • Get advice before declaring the contract terminated — getting this wrong can itself create liability.

Frequently Asked Questions

An external, uncontrollable event that makes performing a contractual obligation genuinely impossible — not merely more expensive or difficult. It's addressed in Article 236 of the new Civil Transactions Law, effective from 1 June 2026.

Usually not on their own — if performance is still possible, just costlier, that's more likely a hardship question under Article 224 than true force majeure.

Only where the impossibility is total. Partial or temporary impossibility can lead to other outcomes, like extinguishing part of the obligation, modifying the contract, or a court-ordered cancellation.

The party relying on it. You should be ready to show the event, why it was unforeseeable and unavoidable, and exactly how it made your specific obligation impossible — not just that something difficult happened.

Potentially, but never automatically — you still need to show a direct causal link between the specific event and why your particular obligation became impossible to perform.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Whether force majeure applies depends heavily on your contract's exact wording, the date of the relevant events, and the specific facts involved. Get advice before suspending performance, withholding payment, or terminating a contract.