Abdul Jinadu
Call: 1995
"Abdul's greatest strength is his ability to grasp the key factual and legal issues in very complex, fact-heavy construction cases."
Legal 500 EMEA 2023
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Clerk Details
Practice Summary
Abdul Jinadu was called to the Bar in 1995 and has been a practising barrister and arbitrator in Keating Chambers since 1996, specialising in construction, engineering and energy disputes, and domestic and international arbitration. He has acted for the full spectrum of clients including construction and engineering companies, government organisations, corporations, public utilities, local authorities, consultancies, architects and engineers. He has extensive experience of cladding related disputes having been instructed on behalf of the Bereaved Survivors and Residents as a specialist construction counsel on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and as counsel in various cladding claims including a £70m claim in the High Court. Abdul was featured in The Lawyer Hot 100 for 2025 and was shortlisted for 'Construction and Energy Junior of the Year' at the Legal 500 UK Bar Awards 2025. Abdul is a Tier 2 Leading Arbitrator for International Arbitration in Legal 500 2026. He is also a Part II DIFC registered practitioner, and is included in the Islamic Cooperation Arbitration Centre (OIC-AC) and Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) Lists of Arbitrators.
He has extensive experience of a wide range of disputes and advisory work relating to infrastructure projects. Significant cases have involved oil and gas onshore and offshore facilities, solar power plants, aluminium smelting plants, pharmaceutical plants, hospitals, mining and marine construction.
He has an extensive international practice both as counsel and as arbitrator. He has acted as chair of the tribunal, sole arbitrator and party appointed arbitrator in respect of major projects internationally including in the GCC, Caribbean, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and Turkmenistan. Recent appointments include as sole arbitrator in a Tanzanian arbitration, as president of the tribunal in a $370m ICC arbitration and party appointed arbitrator in a £400m Nigerian dispute.
His arbitrator appointments have included ICC and DIFC-LCIA appointments as well as ad hoc arbitrations.
He also has experience of dispute boards acting both as counsel and dispute board member including as chair of a dispute board for a $300m road project in Central Africa.
He is a chapter author for Keating on Construction Contracts, Keating on Offshore Construction and Marine Engineering, Keating on NEC, Construction Law in the 21st Century and Oil and Gas Contracts – Principles and Practice. He has lectured on a wide range of subjects to a wide range of professional bodies. He has written articles on a wide range of construction law related subjects.
Practice Areas
Construction & Engineering
- Acting for the defendant contractor in a claim related to a large residential property.
- Instructed by the defendant/developer in adjudication and subsequent enforcement proceedings arising out of a mixed-use regeneration scheme.
- Acting for the consulting fire engineers in a multi-party action in respect of cladding and building safety claims with a claim value of £70m.
- Acting for the contractor/defendant in a claim brought by the NHBC.
- Advising a contractor on a defects claim concerning installed structural steel under a JCT Design and Build 2016 contract for the demolition of existing buildings and the construction of new agricultural buildings, an office building and associated drainage and highway works in North Yorkshire.
- Acting for a main contractor in resisting an adjudication brought by an employer in relation to a large student accommodation development in east London.
- Acting for an architects’ practice in an adjudication under the Construction Industry Council Model Adjudication Procedure and advising on post-decision options, including natural justice grounds for Part 8 proceedings and re-adjudication.
- Advising in an adjudication concerning alleged professional negligence by a consultancy on a residential development.
- Advising an educational institution in relation to a claim against its architects arising from works to a teaching building.
- Advisory instructions for contractors, developers or private clients: works to a substantial residential property in north-west London; refurbishment works to a community centre; and a private client construction dispute.
- Advising the owners and the operator of a group of care home and neurological rehabilitation facilities on claims against the main contractor arising from alleged defects in the construction of the facilities.
- Advising in respect of a claim arising from the collapse of a roof pleaded under the Building Safety Act 2022, the Defective Premises Act 1972, and the retrospective scope of section 2A of the 1972 Act.
- Instructed on behalf of the Bereaved Survivors and Residents as a specialist construction counsel on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
- Acting for a specialist contractor in a series of hearings regarding the enforcement of adjudication decisions arising from a landmark hotel project.
- Acting for a dredging contractor in a FIDIC Blue Book Dispute Adjudication Board against a Kenyan Government entity in respect of a claim arising from damage to an undersea cable during the course of the works.
- Acting for a Chinese heavy engineering company in respect of the contract for the development of a new container port in Sierra Leone.
- Acting on behalf of a specialist design and build contractor in an adjudication in respect of a dispute regarding the design of glazing for a major office block refurbishment.
- Acting on behalf of a local authority in a dispute concerning ground works.
- Acting in a series of adjudications on behalf of a major UK contractor regarding a high profile residential development in London.
- Acting in a multi-million-pound adjudication on a high-profile commercial development on behalf of a major UK contractor in London.
- Acting in a series of adjudications on behalf of a major UK contractor regarding a mixed residential and commercial project in the north of England.
- Acting on behalf of a major international construction company on a large adjudication concerning a commercial project in the east of England.
- Advising a major UK construction services company in respect of a claim arising from the Westfield development.
- Acting on behalf of a development company in High Court litigation regarding the redevelopment of educational facilities.
Infrastructure & Utilities
- Acting for a specialist tunnelling subcontractor on an NEC3 Option A subcontract on a major United Kingdom infrastructure project, advising on extension of time, compensation events and delay damages following an expert determination, and working alongside independent delay expertise.
- Advising a local authority over a period of two years on disputes arising under an NEC3 Works Contract for a trunk road improvement scheme.
- Acting on behalf of a major contractor in relation to a claim arising from the Jubilee Line extension.
- Advising a major UK construction services company in respect of a claim arising from infrastructure refurbishment works.
- Advising the claimant in an arbitration, between a UK Contractor and the State, concerning a World Bank funded road project in West Africa.
Energy & Natural Resources
- Instructed in relation to an engineer, procure and construct contract for a large-scale renewable energy independent power project in the Middle East.
- Acted for the second defendant, the Bermuda-incorporated operator of the West African Gas Pipeline.
- Acted on behalf of a major UK energy supplier in respect of defects on turbines on a large offshore wind farm.
- Acting for a Nigerian oil and gas services company concerning a dispute with a UK oil and gas services company regarding an agreement for the provision of services in Nigeria.
- Acting for a UK power company, in a £40m claim concerning power generation equipment.
- Represented a national oil company in US$40m international arbitration regarding the turnaround maintenance of a major regional oil refinery in the Caribbean.
- Acting on behalf of a Kuwaiti company in an engineering dispute in the oil sector.
IT & Technology
Acting on behalf of a major defence contractor in an adjudication relating to a major defence information technology project.
International Arbitration
- Acting for a Gulf contractor in two parallel arbitrations under the Rules of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre arising out of successive phases of a Dubai development.
- Advising on the interpretation of a commercial agreement under Saudi law, and in particular whether an obligation expressed by reference to contracts signed with clients in the territory extended beyond clients incorporated in the Kingdom, applying the framework of Article 104 of the Civil Transactions Law.
- Acting for the claimant, a Gulf facade and aluminium specialist, in an arbitration under the Rules of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre before a three-member tribunal, settling opening submissions for the merits hearing and amended witness evidence.
- Acting in a multi-party ICC arbitration claim for approximately $1 billion arising out of a production-sharing contract for a deep offshore field involving Nigerian and international parties.
- Acting on behalf of the government of Malawi in an ICC arbitration.
Offshore Construction & Marine Engineering
- Acting for a local authority in an adjudication arising out of an NEC3 contract for the design and construction of a marine walkway structure in a major English harbour.
- Advising a contractor and its professional indemnity insurers on a proposed contribution claim against its civil and structural engineers under the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978, arising from the failure of a heavy-duty port pavement constructed under an amended NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract at a container terminal in the north of England.
- Acting in a multi-million pound claim on behalf of an international port operator regarding marine construction works.
- Acting on behalf of a contractor in relation to a claim regarding marine construction works arising from the refurbishment of a key defence establishment.
Arbitrator Appointments
- Presiding arbitrator, appointed by the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC in a three-member tribunal in a London-seated ICC arbitration governed by English law, concerning a claim for an alleged overpayment to a mechanical and electrical subcontractor on a major distribution warehouse project following early termination by the end client.
- Presiding arbitrator in an ICC arbitration between a Central American project development company and a Turkish power generation group, arising out of a project development, management and support services agreement linked to a multi-billion dollar power purchase arrangement in the Caribbean.
- Co-arbitrator in two related arbitrations under the Domestic Arbitration Commercial Rules of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa, seated in Johannesburg and governed by South African law, arising out of engineer, procure and construct contracts for two energy facilities in South Africa.
- Arbitrator under the Rules of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre in a reference concerning a real estate development in the Emirates.
- Adjudicator in a true value reference under a subcontract, determining the valuation of an omission on a residential development.
- Adjudicator in a series of three references under a subcontract and the Construction Industry Council Adjudication Rules, between an Irish main contractor and the United Kingdom branch of an international engineering group.
- Adjudicator under a bespoke building contract in a residential dispute against a consumer employer.
- Adjudicator in two references arising from a facilities and services subcontract.
- Appointed as a dispute board president in respect of a €300m road project in a Central African country.
- Sole arbitrator appointed by the ICC in a dispute arising from the design and construction of a renewable energy plant in East Africa.
- Sole arbitrator appointed by the ICC in a dispute arising from an oil services contract in West Africa.
- Party-appointed arbitrator in a £400m claim arising from the allocation of crude from a jointly utilised transportation pipeline.
Public Inquiries
- Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Acting as specialist construction counsel for the Bereaved Survivors and Residents on Phase II of the Inquiry.
- Covid-19 Inquiry: Instructed by the Government Legal Department acting for the Department of Health as specialist commercial counsel.
- Omagh Inquiry: Instructed by the Government Legal Department in 2025 acting for the Department of Culture Media and Sport.
Other Information
Education & Career
Part II DIFC Registered Practitioner, 2025
Public Access Training, 2004
TECBAR Accredited Adjudicator, 2004
Keating Chambers, 1996
Pupillage, Keating Chambers, 1995-96
Called to the Bar (Middle Temple), 1995
LL.M. Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge 1994
MA in Law, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge 1993
Additional information
Abdul has written papers on adjudication and professional negligence. He is an avid Tottenham Hotspurs fan and enjoys military history.
Appointments & Awards
Representative on the Bar Council’s International Committee
Memberships
Part II DIFC registered practitioner
- Islamic Cooperation Arbitration Centre (OIC-AC) List of Arbitrators
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
Technology and Construction Bar Association (TECBAR)
Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR)
Society of Construction Law
CIArb (UK)
Lagos Court of Arbitration
Directory of African International Arbitrators (DAIA)
Seminars & Publications
Chapter author, Keating on Construction Contracts – Eleventh Edition (2020)
Chapter author, Roberts Oil & Gas Contracts: Principles and Practice – Third Edition (2023)
Chapter author, Keating on Offshore Construction & Marine Engineering Contracts – Third Edition (2024)
Chapter author, Construction Law in the 21st Century First Edition (2024)