Specialist Engagement Obligation Contextual Application in Prime-Sub Structure
P · Principle
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/161#Specialist_Engagement_Obligation_Contextual_Application_in_Prime-Sub_Structure
Properties
Instance of
SpecialistEngagementObligationWhenClientInterestsRequireIt
http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#SpecialistEngagementObligationWhenClientInterestsRequireIt
Applied to
Engineer X Specialist Expert Repositioned as Prime
Firm A Nominal Prime Contractor
Firm B Nominal Prime Contractor
Balancing with
Nominal Capability Misrepresentation Prohibition in Procurement Responses
Substantive Contribution Threshold as Ethical Prerequisite for Prime Engagement
Concrete expression
The Discussion affirms that the code's provision permitting a prime professional to retain specialists is proper and valuable, but only when the prime is itself performing substantial services — the specialist engagement provision is not a standalone authorization for brokerage-only primes to legitimize their role by naming a specialist.
Confidence
0.94
Importance
high
Interpretation
In this context, the specialist engagement obligation operates within the constraint that the prime must be performing substantial services of its own — it is a supplement to genuine prime competence, not a substitute for it.
Invoked by
Ethics Board interpreting Section 6 second clause
Tension resolution
The specialist engagement provision is read in the context of the full competence section, requiring that the prime be performing substantial services before the specialist engagement authorization applies.
Source Evidence
Source text
Section 6 contemplates that a prime professional engineer will be expected to retain or recommend the retention of experts and specialists in situations in which the prime professional engineer is performing substantial services of a project.
Text references
The second clause of Section 6 recognizes the propriety and value of the prime professional or client retaining the services of experts and specialists in the interest of the project.
We read this procedure in the context of the full Section 6, however, and conclude that in totality Section 6 contemplates that a prime professional engineer will be expected to retain or recommend the retention of experts and specialists in situations in which the prime professional engineer is performing substantial services of a project.
TTL
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@prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> .
@prefix proeth: <http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#> .
@prefix prov: <http://www.w3.org/ns/prov#> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix xsd: <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> .
case161:Specialist_Engagement_Obligation_Contextual_Application_in_Prime-Sub_Structure a proeth:SpecialistEngagementObligationWhenClientInterestsRequireIt,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "Specialist Engagement Obligation Contextual Application in Prime-Sub Structure" ;
proeth:appliedto "Engineer X Specialist Expert Repositioned as Prime",
"Firm A Nominal Prime Contractor",
"Firm B Nominal Prime Contractor" ;
proeth:balancingwith "Nominal Capability Misrepresentation Prohibition in Procurement Responses",
"Substantive Contribution Threshold as Ethical Prerequisite for Prime Engagement" ;
proeth:conceptCategory "Principle" ;
proeth:concreteexpression "The Discussion affirms that the code's provision permitting a prime professional to retain specialists is proper and valuable, but only when the prime is itself performing substantial services — the specialist engagement provision is not a standalone authorization for brokerage-only primes to legitimize their role by naming a specialist." ;
proeth:confidence "0.94" ;
proeth:discoveredincase "161" ;
proeth:discoveredinpass "2" ;
proeth:discoveredinsection "discussion" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredat "2026-03-02T11:45:18.835804+00:00" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredincase "161" ;
proeth:generatedattime "2026-03-02T11:45:18.835804+00:00" ;
proeth:importance "high" ;
proeth:interpretation "In this context, the specialist engagement obligation operates within the constraint that the prime must be performing substantial services of its own — it is a supplement to genuine prime competence, not a substitute for it." ;
proeth:invokedby "Ethics Board interpreting Section 6 second clause" ;
proeth:principleclass "Specialist Engagement Obligation When Client Interests Require It" ;
proeth:sourcetext "Section 6 contemplates that a prime professional engineer will be expected to retain or recommend the retention of experts and specialists in situations in which the prime professional engineer is performing substantial services of a project." ;
proeth:tensionresolution "The specialist engagement provision is read in the context of the full competence section, requiring that the prime be performing substantial services before the specialist engagement authorization applies." ;
proeth:textreferences "The second clause of Section 6 recognizes the propriety and value of the prime professional or client retaining the services of experts and specialists in the interest of the project.",
"We read this procedure in the context of the full Section 6, however, and conclude that in totality Section 6 contemplates that a prime professional engineer will be expected to retain or recommend the retention of experts and specialists in situations in which the prime professional engineer is performing substantial services of a project." ;
proeth:wasattributedto "Case 161 Extraction" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-03-02T11:58:20.080435"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 161 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Discovered in case
161
Discovered in pass
2
Discovered in section
discussion
First discovered
2026-03-02T11:45:18.835804+00:00
First case
161
Generated
2026-03-02T11:45:18.835804+00:00
Attributed to
Case 161 Extraction
Generated
2026-03-02T11:58:20.080435
Generated by
ProEthica Case 161 Extraction