113 Architecture questions - Why is the independence of civil engineers important?
Why is the independence of civil engineers important?
The requirement for the independence of civil engineers is enshrined in the Civil Engineers Act (ZTG) and is fundamentally linked to the authorisation to issue public documents. As the authority attaches the same importance to notarisation by architects as it does to its own assessment of documents, possible bias must be ruled out.
ZTG § 12 (2) "Civil engineers may not carry out notarisations ... if there are reasons to doubt their complete impartiality."
By notarising submission documents, architects confirm that they comply with the applicable laws and thus also make a decisive contribution to the speedy processing of the approval procedure. In the execution phase, civil engineers, as commissioned test engineers, check on behalf of the authority that building projects are being implemented in accordance with the authorisation and the law.
In addition to notarisation activities, there is also a requirement for an economically independent view of the construction process.
This is the basis for the provision that civil engineers are not authorised to carry out any executive activities within the scope of their specialist areas and that the exercise of a trade that is also part of the scope of authorisation of civil engineers is incompatible with the exercise of the authorisation.
This ensures that there are no conflicts of interest in the tendering and awarding of construction contracts. Furthermore, without the separation of planning and execution, independent local construction supervision would not be possible.
According to the ZTG, architects are entitled to carry out the organisational and commercial management of projects in addition to their planning activities and professional representation before authorities and public bodies.
This means that architects, as independent consultants for all questions relating to construction projects and their realisation, are at the service of their clients without restriction. And guarantee their clients an unbiased, coordinating and scrutinising representation of interests, both before authorities and vis-à-vis the executing companies.
It should not go unmentioned here that the National Council, in an excessive interpretation of an ECJ ruling, has amended the Civil Engineers Act and, by fully legitimising the participation of non-professionals in civil engineering companies, is jeopardising the previously described independence of the civil engineering profession.
