Overview

In this world the engineering service consultants are facing increasing competition, project complexity and client demands for higher quality work, faster delivery of services, greater flexibility at lower cost and prices. Successful consultants realise that avoiding or mitigating legal liability issues is central to their reputational and financial survival.

This must attend workshop provides an overview of the law as it related to professional liability in contract and delict (tort) generally as well as on the practical issues facing the consultants over the entire life cycle of engineering projects.

Why Should an Individual Attend?

• Understand the engineering service consultants.
• Liabilities under the law of contract, as mandatary or agent
• Vicarious liability and professional indemnities
• Design liability
• Liabilities when acting as a certifier, adjudicator, or arbitrator.
• Need to unravel, understand, and interpret contract documentation.
• Need to do a legal risk assessment of their liabilities before binding themselves contractually.

Program Outline

1. Liabilities under the legal framework

• Legal systems
• Sources of law
• Branches of law and liabilities under them

2. Liabilities under the Law of Contract generally

• Elements of a contract
• Offers, and acceptance, negations an tenders
• Project based and term-based framework contracts
• Case study: Confusion between a service contract and a services framework contract
• Contractual damage

3. Liabilities under the Law of Delict

• Elements of a delict
• Intentional and negligent harm
• The duty of care & risk management principles
• Vicarious liability
• The measure of damages
• Case study: Liability and delict and contract?

4. The consultant’s contract

• Who is a professional service consultant?
• Consultants’ liability under mandate contracts
• To carry out the mandate
• To not exceed the terms of the mandate
• To perform the mandate personally
• The duty to act with care and skill.
• The duty to act in good faith.
• The duty to account
• Entitlements of the mandatary/consultant
• To compensate for expenses
• To agreed remuneration.

5. Consultants’ labilities under the consulting contract templates

• CIDB, NEC PSC, FIDIC White Book
• Consultants’ liabilities under the under the CIDB Professional Services Contract July 09
• Case study: Liabilities resulting from some typical client amendments to the CIDB form
• Consultants’ liabilities under the under NEC4 PSC4

6. Consultants’ liability under agency contracts

• To follow instructions
• To exercise care and diligence
• To act in good faith
• To account properly
• Entitlements of the agent/consultant
• To reimbursement
• To indemnity for cost

7. Consultants’ liabilities under the Construction Contract

• FIDIC, NEC, JBCC & GCC (latest editions)
• The common law duties of the parties
• Consultants’ liabilities as Engineer, Project Manager, or Agent under
• Design, Variations. Claims, Notice and communication,
• When acting as certifier, adjudicator, mediator, determiner or arbitrator

8. Best practice in documenting contracts using standard templates

• Consulting contracts Project based & Term based.
• Construction Contracts Project based and term based.
• Consultants advising on procurement processes.
• Consultants protecting themselves from poor client documentation.
• Bad Practice (the Client’s documentation), dealing with curved balls.

Who Should Attend?

• Engineering service consultants
• Built-environment profession consultants.
• Consulting professionals
• Mandataries, Agents, Project Managers,
• Construction Management Teams
• Contractors