01
Legal issue
A consulting engineer is jointly liable with the contractor for ten years for defects in a project designed by the engineer or executed under the engineer's supervision; an agreement excluding or reducing that guarantee is void.
02
Published principle
The Arabic judgment published by the Supreme Court is the primary source. The Russian, English and Chinese texts on this page are unofficial Smart Global Capital editorial accounts.
The official source contains the full judgment together with its published headnote and legal rule; the editorial account does not replace the Arabic original.
A consulting engineer is jointly liable with the contractor for defects appearing in a project designed by the engineer or executed under the engineer's supervision for ten years, even where the parties agreed otherwise, pursuant to Articles 634–636 of the Civil Transactions Law.
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Applicability
The Supreme Court set aside the part refusing joint liability of the consulting engineer and itself made the engineer jointly liable with the contractor for the amount already awarded. The ten-year period runs from delivery of the structure; if the engineer was retained only to design and not to supervise, liability is limited to design defects. Whether the works qualify as a building or other fixed structure, the engineer's mandate and the current law must be checked separately.
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Related instruments
- Civil Transactions Law, Royal Decree No. 29/2013, Articles 634–636
- Law Regulating the Work of Engineering Consultancy Offices, Royal Decree No. 27/2016, Article 22
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