The appointed engineer under a road construction project, acting as agent for the employer, refused to issue a payment certificate in response to invoices provided by the contractor because the contractor did not finish the work it was supposed to perform according to the contract. The court held that this was no reason not to issue a payment certificate and gave an order obliging the engineer to do so.
The contract was the General Conditions of Contract for Construction Works, second edition 2010 (GCC). The contract contained specific guidelines in clause 10 how the engineer was to determine the amount that was owed to the contractor according to the contract. The engineer cannot simply do nothing after the contractor delivers the monthly statement for payment. Once the monthly statement for payment has been submitted, that is the basis the engineer must work from. After a monthly statement for payment has been submitted, a payment certificate must be issued for whatever amount the engineer finds to be appropriate. Once the certificate is issued, the employer has 28 days to deliver a dispute notice to the engineer. The engineer was ordered to issue a signed payment certificate within seven days of the date of the court order.
It is unusual to find a high court decision having to explain what the GCC clearly requires.