The final analysis

摘要

In traditional building contracts, the architect has always wielded a high degree of power. The role of the architect as 'certifier' under the contract ensures they are the key decision maker in deciding when the building is complete, and in deciding the contractor's entitlements to further time or money. Not least among all the certificates which an architect issues under a typical JCT contract are the interim certificates of payment during the course of the job and the final certificate of payment at the end of the job. A recent case has shown that these two certificates are radically different documents, and each gives a separate right to a contractor to sue for the sum stated in that certificate.