Based in Dubai, Robert advises clients on a wide range of domestic and international disputes. His practice spans arbitration, mediation, adjudication, and dispute boards, with a focus on complex commercial, construction, and infrastructure-related matters.

He has acted in numerous high-value disputes across sectors such as civil engineering, process plants, and general commercial contracts, and is regularly appointed as neutral or counsel in formal dispute resolution proceedings.

Robert is an active member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and is committed to advancing the use of ADR across the Middle East.Robert A. Sliwinski is a UK-qualified Barrister and Chartered Arbitrator with more than 35 years of experience in the construction and engineering industries. He is also an Accredited Adjudicator, Mediator, Quantity Surveyor, and experienced Dispute Board Member, bringing a uniquely multidisciplinary perspective to his work.

Robert specialises in all aspects of property, construction, and infrastructure-related disputes, with particular expertise in alternative dispute resolution (ADR). He regularly represents clients in litigation, adjudication, arbitration, and mediation, and has also been appointed as arbitrator, adjudicator, mediator, expert determiner, and dispute board member in both domestic and international settings.

As counsel, Robert has appeared before courts up to and including the Court of Appeal, and has handled cases involving contract interpretation, construction and engineering claims, tort, development agreements, and professional negligence. In one notable High Court matter, he successfully argued that a company deemed balance sheet insolvent remained solvent under the meaning of the Insolvency Act 1986.

Robert has been appointed arbitrator in disputes covering professional negligence, landlord and tenant issues, delay analysis, defects, repudiation, and complex infrastructure works, including major civil engineering, mechanical and electrical, and process plant projects. He has recently served as joint arbitrator in a multi-million dollar dispute concerning airport runway construction, and as a tribunal member in an ICC arbitration relating to a national government dispute over a major road project.

He has received over 400 adjudicator appointments from leading professional bodies including the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), RICS, CEDR, CIC, AICA, and direct party appointments. His work as a mediator and expert determiner spans construction and engineering disputes, professional negligence, development agreements, and commercial leases.

Robert is known for working closely with clients and their experts, ensuring that each decision in the dispute process is fully understood. He believes that informed clients make better decisions and sees his role as both advocate and advisor—empowering parties to move through dispute resolution with clarity and confidence.