CE 14 Civil Engineering Laws, Ethics and Contracts

Lecture Notes 2
in
Civil Engineering Laws,
Ethics and Contracts

CE 14
Second Semester
2021-2022
BSCE Curriculum 2018

Presented by: NENITA M. ABARADO, C.E.

College of Engineering and Architecture
Bohol Island State University-Main Campus

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CE 14 Civil Engineering Laws, Ethics and Contracts

Lesson 2
The Practice of Civil Engineering: Professional Responsibility

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. identify the main responsibilities and job duties of civil engineers;

2. state some major problems in civil engineering profession and
3. identify client-civil engineer relationship.

Time Frame: 2 hours

Introduction

From Section 24 of R.A. 544, it states that “The practice of civil engineering is a
professional service, admission to which must be determined upon individual, personal
qualifications.”

The standard of practice is for Civil Engineers to be given responsibility for

studying, conceiving, and designing, observing construction, and assisting in the
programming for operating and maintaining engineering works. The Civil Engineer has
obligations as trustee to the public interest as well as faithful to the private interests of
clients. Successfully fulfilling these responsibilities require candor, mutual trust, and
effective communication and understanding between the Civil Engineer and the client.

 Professional Responsibility

- Civil Engineers shall conduct themselves in a highly Professional Manner and Serve as
Faithful Trustees or agents of their client or employers

- Civil Engineers are therefore bound by the Fundamental Canons of Ethics

- Care and protection of the environment is paramount in the Civil Engineer’s work
Engagement

- Civil Engineers must always strive to maintain the highest standard of Ethical
Professional Practice in their dealing with Client employers, employees, competitors
and the community.

 Client-civil engineer relationships

Many engineering works are conceived, designed, and constructed by Civil

Engineers employed in governmental agencies or in industry. Independent civil
engineering firms are also relied upon to accomplish projects which requires special
expertise beyond the normal capabilities of the client.

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CE 14 Civil Engineering Laws, Ethics and Contracts

 Obligations Of The Civil Engineer

1. The Civil Engineer shall perform Scope of the Services as stated in Section 2 of
RA 544.
2. The Civil Engineer shall exercise reasonable skill, care and diligence in the
performance of his obligations.
3. The Civil Engineer shall act independently and, as required by the contract,
perform with the necessary skills and professional judgement, when required to
certify, decide or exercise discretion between the Client and a Third party with
whom the Client has a contract.
4. The Civil Engineer is authorized to act as the Client’s faithful agent when required
but only as implied in section two or implied in the contract adopted for the project.
5. When aware of any matters which will change or changed the scope of the
services, the Civil Engineer shall give written notice to the client containing
particulars of the change.
6. For Specified Staged Services, the Civil Engineer shall not initiate or proceed
with any subsequent stage of the Services without the approval of the Client.
7. When required, the Civil Engineer shall direct and co-operate with all other
professionals and integrate their work where applicable into that being
undertaken by the Civil Engineer and other professionals, but shall not be
professionally liable for their work.
8. The Civil Engineer may recommend specialist suppliers and/or contractors to
design and execute certain parts of the Works, in which case the Civil Engineer
shall co-ordinate the design of such part or parts with the overall design of the
Works but he shall be relieved of all responsibility for the design, manufacture,
installation and performance of any such part or parts of the Works. The Civil
Engineer shall not be liable for acts of negligence, default or omission by such
person or persons.
9. The Civil Engineer shall notify the Client of any interest the Civil Engineer has
which may significantly conflict with the interests of the Client under their
Contract.

 Obligations Of The Client

1. The Client shall pay the Civil Engineer for his Services, the amount of fees and
expenses set out in or determined in their Agreement.
2. The Client shall provide the Civil Engineer within reasonable time (that does not
result in delay to the provision of the Services), all information required by the
Civil Engineer in the performance of his services and a decision in writing on all
matter properly referred to the Client in writing.
3. The Client shall cooperate with the Civil Engineer and shall not interfere with or
obstruct the proper performance of the Services.
4. The Client shall, as soon as practicable, make arrangements to enable the Civil
Engineer to enter the site and inspect facilities needed in the performance of his
services.

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CE 14 Civil Engineering Laws, Ethics and Contracts

5. The Client shall arrange for the provision of services from other professionals
or others as may be required and beat all costs.
6. When the Civil Engineer is required to administer the work of other third parties
who are directly contracted by the Client or when the Civil Engineer is required
to act as Engineer-to-the-Contract for any contract on behalf of the Client then
all instructions by the Client shall be given through the Civil Engineer.
7. When aware of any matter which change or has changed the scope of the Civil
Engineer’s Services, the Client shall notify in writing within 7 days the Civil
Engineer containing, as far as is practicable, the particulars of the change.

 Liability Of The Civil Engineer And The Client

1. The Civil Engineer shall only be liable to pay damages to the Client in
connection with their Agreement if a breach of duty of care is established.
2. The Client shall only be liable to pay damages to the Civil Engineer if a breach
of the Client’s duty is established.
3. Conflicts between Client and Civil Engineer shall be resolved by process of
arbitration.

 Limitation Or Civil Engineer’s Responsibility

1. The Civil Engineering shall have no responsibility for cost, loss or damage
arising from any errors from data, documents, plans and design or specifications
not prepared by him/her.
2. Civil Engineer shall not be held to have made any warranty or promise as to the
suitability and performance of any other consultant or any other third party.
3. Civil Engineering shall not be responsible for the techniques, programs and
procedures adopted by any other third party responsible for executing any
aspects of the projects.

 Damages
1. Damages payable shall be limited to the amount of countable loss and damage
suffered as a direct result of such breach.
2. The maximum amount of damages payable in respect of liability, whether under
the law or contract is limited to the amount specified in the Specific Provision. If
no such amount or provision is specified, to the lesser of P300,000 or 10% of
the total amount of damages of the portion of the work or 25% of the total of
fees payable under their Agreement.
3. If found to be liable, in circumstances where the acts of a third party have
contributed to the loss, the proportion of damages payable shall be limited to
that proportion

Assignment 2. (Please follow the previous format)

Using an A4 size bond paper, answer each question below. (font: Arial, size 11). Your
response should include your own personal thoughts. You can cite situations or examples

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CE 14 Civil Engineering Laws, Ethics and Contracts

to support your answers. If you use examples or situations from other sources, make a
note of the source's name and the URL.
Target date of submission will be announced during the virtual meeting next week.

Questions:

1. What is an engineer? What is a professional engineer?

2. What are the practices of civil engineering?
3. What are the key skills required for civil engineers?
4. Identify client-civil engineer relationship and give examples.
5. Identify some of the major difficulties facing civil engineering professionals in the
performance of their profession.

References:

 https://thecorpusjuris.com/legislative/republic-acts/ra-no-544.php
 https://youtu.be/XcGwerzaBAY
 Manual of Professional Practice for Civil Engineers 3rd Ed., PICE
 https://presidencyuniversity.in/what-are-the-roles-responsibilities-of-a-civil-