The Basis of Contractual Civil Liability of Consulting Engineers in Domestic and Foreign Law

Abstract

One of the crucial and fundamental issues in the field of contractual civil liability is the elucidation of the legislator's approach in determining and identifying the basis of contractual civil liability. This matter plays a critical role in imposing liability and the burden of proof on the contractual obligor. The consulting engineer, as one of the professional categories responsible for providing design or supervision services in large construction and infrastructure projects under contract and based on the documents and records of the agreement, is not exempt from this rule. The failure to comply with the conditions of the contract or the technical and engineering standards at any stage of design or supervision can result in the contractual liability of the consulting engineer. In such a situation, the pertinent question is: what is the basis of the contractual liability of the consulting engineer in each of these areas? In the laws of most countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Egypt, despite the divergence of opinions on this matter, the majority of legal scholars have identified the basis of the contractual liability of the consulting engineer as fault. In our country, the apparent wording of Article 1 of Article 26 of the agreement and the general conditions of standardized consulting service contracts suggests that the responsibility of this profession is considered purely a technical specialty. Nevertheless, upon careful examination of other provisions of the aforementioned general conditions, including Article 2 of Article 26, which denotes the "shortcoming" as a presumption of such liability, and Article 8 of the same regulation, which limits the responsibility of the consulting engineer in fulfilling contractual obligations to efforts and endeavors, it can be inferred that fault is also presumed to be the basis of the contractual liability of the consulting engineer in this professional category.