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Opinion
Volume 7 - Issue 5 March 2019
DOI: 10.19080/CERJ.2019.07.555722
Civil Eng Res J
Copyright © All rights are reserved by Klaus Holschemacher
Law Education for Civil Engineers
Klaus Holschemacher* and Ulrike Quapp
HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Submission: March 16, 2019; Published: March 26, 2019
*Corresponding author: Klaus Holschemacher, HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Introduction
As demanding the job of a civil engineer is, as challenging
are the today’s legal requirements on construction projects.
Nevertheless, there is widespread opinion that civil engineering
is a profession where legal knowledge and skills are not
necessary at all. But construction projects normally touch many
different legal aspects, such as of civil and public construction
law, neighbor law, environmental law, professional rules of
engineers and sometimes criminal law as well. Of course,
architects and construction managers are more involved in law
related construction issues than a civil engineer is. However, also
rules and regulations. A fundamental understanding of the home
countries legal system, of legal relationships in construction
projects as well as relevant law sources are necessary to avoid
disadvantage.
In the authors’ opinion, civil engineers need a minimum legal
high-quality work. In Germany, this point of view is supported
by the construction industry, professional associations such as
the Chambers of Engineers and public employers which all are
requiring law topics for civil engineering education [1]. The
should offer and to what extents.
Law Education in Civil Engineering Study Programs
Legal topics normally only play a minor role in civil
engineering education. Hence, most of the German higher
education institutions offer law contents in civil engineering
study programs on different educational levels and to various
extents. Students can, for example, come in contact with
fundamental information about the home country’s legal system
or attend courses in public construction and civil construction
law, city or transportation infrastructure planning – depended
from the respective university.
Of course, there are noteworthy arguments against law
contents in civil engineering study programs, such as the reduced
time for engineering-related courses [2]. Furthermore, a high
number of civil engineering students normally show no or only
little interested in legal topics although construction projects
have become more and more legally demanding in the last
years. Legal and technical rules and regulations have increased
in extent and complexity with the result that civil engineers
come in contact with legal topics much more intensively. Thus,
to guarantee graduates’ employability and to prepare graduates
well for their future jobs, law education is necessary.
Civil engineers must not learn all aspects of law. It is
important to know basics of the legal system in which they will
work, to be able to name relevant legal sources and to know
where relevant rules and regulations can be found. That allows
civil engineering graduates to deepen their knowledge if later
needed. For taking away the fear of coming in contact with
legal issues, basic knowledge in law is necessary. By teaching
that, universities enable graduates to recognize risks in their
daily worklife and ensure the ability to decide whether there
is a problem that they can solve by themselves or if they better
should search for legal counsel.
Law contents in civil engineering programs do not necessarily
need a lot of time. One solution can be to include law contents in
civil engineering courses and not to teach the topic separately.
For example modules such as “building construction” or “road
planning” could contain legal planning aspects. Of course, it will
reduce the time for engineering contents as well. Furthermore,
Civil Eng Res J 7(5): CERJ.MS.ID.555722 (2019) 00118
Abstract
Law education of civil engineers always is a hard-discussed topic. This short paper shows its importance and recommends, at a German
example, the educational level, the contents and the extent of law topics in higher and further education of civil engineers.
Keywords: Civil Engineering Education; Further Training; Legal Education; Construction Law
How to cite this article: Klaus Holschemacher, Ulrike Quapp. Law Education for Civil Engineers. Civil Eng Res J. 2019; 7(5): 555722.
DOI: 10.19080/CERJ.2019.07.555722
00119
Civil Engineering Research Journal
the respective lecturer will be challenged to teach law contents
beside the subject-related contents. The better solution will be to
offer law lectures in a separate course and with experienced law
experts as lecturers. In the opinion of the authors, in a bachelor
program 3 contact hours per week within 14 weeks resulting in
4 credit points based on the European Credit Transfer System
in Germany correspond with 120 students’ workload and are
around 2% of the total amount of credit points of a bachelor
program. To ensure employability and a comparable educational
level of the graduates, law education in civil and structural
bachelor programs should be compulsory. In master programs,
students could have the opportunity to choose more individually,
building upon the basic law education on bachelor level.
Legal Further Training Beside the Job
Because law is undergoing continuous revisions and civil
once in their worklife, a further legal education seems necessary
to stay up to date and to avoid disadvantages for the employer
or themselves. In Germany, legal regulations require an ongoing
further education for special groups of civil engineers and
professional associations for their members. However, even
it will be recommendable. The permanently updating rules
and regulations relating to construction processes require
knowledge of the newest legal and technical development as
well as current court decisions to ensure a high-quality work.
Further legal training in Germany is offered by universities,
professional associations and private education institutions.
Conclusion
in design and construction. This allows the building industry,
employers and the civil engineers themselves to save time and
money that otherwise might have been spent for legal consulting
or for corresponding penalties as well as lawsuits. Thus, the
authors recommend the inclusion of a compulsory law module
with contents of legal basics as well as public and private
construction law in each civil engineering bachelor program in
Germany.
References
1. AS Bau-Alliance for the Accreditation of Courses of Studies in
Construction (2018) Reference Frame for Courses of Studies in Civil
Engineering (Bachelor).
2. Quapp U, Holschemacher K (2014) The Importance of Construction
Law in Civil and Structural Engineering Education. In: Chantawarangul
K, et al. (Eds.), Sustainable Solutions in Structural Engineering and
Construction. Proc. 2nd Australasia and South East Asia Structural
Engineering and Construction Conference–ASEA-SEC-02, Bangkok,
Thailand.
3.
Area: 59. Bredgade: Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
Denmark, Denmark, pp. 1-200.
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DOI: 10.19080/CERJ.2019.07.555722
