Civil and Project journal

From Observation to a Defensible Expert Opinion: An Integrated Quality-Control Framework for Official Expert Practice in Road and Building Cases

https://doi.org/10.22034/cpj.2027.251921
Volume 8, Issue 11 - Serial Number 93
January 2027
Pages 11-21
Civil and Project journal

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Ali Ghorbani 1
Hanna Ghorbani Sa 2

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Payame Noor University, P.O. Box 19395-3697, Tehran, Iran

2 Master's degree, Civil Engineering, Construction Engineering and Management, Pars University of Architecture and Art

Abstract
Official expert opinions in road and building disputes operate at the interface of engineering knowledge and judicial decision-making. Their vulnerability often arises not from a lack of technical expertise, but from breaks in the chain connecting the court order, professional competence, evidence, analytical method, causation, quantification, and the final answer. This professional-conceptual article develops an integrated quality-control framework for producing expert opinions that are traceable, reproducible, proportionate to the available evidence, and more defensible under adversarial review. The framework is derived from an analytical synthesis of current Iranian rules governing official expert practice and civil procedure, together with forensic-engineering guidance and recent literature on expert-evidence reliability, construction claims, delay analysis, and construction-forensic ethics. The proposed model treats the expert opinion as an eight-link evidentiary chain: jurisdiction and mission control; order audit; evidence architecture; chronology; technical and causal analysis; transparent quantification; item-by-item response to the referral questions; and adversarial quality review. Four epistemic levels are proposed to separate documented facts, strong corroborative indications, technical probabilities, and party allegations. In addition, a Claim-Evidence-Finding matrix and a final PASS audit—Professional jurisdiction, Accuracy, Scope, and Sustainability—are introduced as practical tools. The central proposition is that defensibility is produced by traceability and methodological discipline rather than rhetorical certainty. The framework is applicable, with case-specific adaptation, to defects and failures, construction accidents and HSE, contractor claims and delays, damages, and building appraisal. As a conceptual professional framework, it requires future empirical evaluation across real expert reports and higher-panel reviews.

Keywords

: Expert opinion
Official expert witness
Forensic engineering
Construction disputes
Causation
Evidence
Quality control
Road and building
Agapiou, A. (2025). The reliability of expert evidence in construction litigation: Towards institutional reliability. Buildings, 15(23), 4215. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15234215
Alrasheed, K. A., Bahman, M., Soliman, E., & Albader, H. (2025). Enhancing claims management in the construction industry using analytic hierarchy process. Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.1061/JLADAH.LADR-1268
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Forensic Engineering Practice Committee. (2012). Guidelines for forensic engineering practice (2nd ed.; J. B. Kardon, Ed.). ASCE. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784412466
Azzam, O. M., Saleh, A. M., & Eleshmawy, N. (2025). Delay analysis in construction contracts: Assessing claims and legal implications. Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction, 17(1), 04524032. https://doi.org/10.1061/JLADAH.LADR-1198
Barrow, R. S., Anthony, R. W., Beasley, K. J., & Verhulst, S. M. (Eds.). (2018). Guidelines for failure investigation (2nd ed.). ASCE. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784415122
Boyacioglu, S. E., Greenwood, D., Rogage, K., & Parry, A. (2025). Enhancing forensic analysis of construction project delays through digital interventions. Buildings, 15(14), 2391. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15142391
Boyajian, D. M., Chen, S.-E., Chen, Y., & Braxtan, N. L. (2025). Importance of legal language for forensic engineering. Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 39(4). https://doi.org/10.1061/JPCFEV.CFENG-5033
Gu, B.-M., Son, I.-H., & Lee, J. (2026a). Ethical standards of expert evidence in construction forensics. Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society, 42(2), 125–134. https://doi.org/10.7843/kgs.2026.42.2.125
Gu, B.-M., Son, I.-H., Kim, K.-B., Kim, J.-M., & Bang, S.-A. (2026b). Standardization framework for forensic investigation of construction accidents. Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society, 42(1), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.7843/kgs.2026.42.1.57
Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran. (2000). Code of Civil Procedure of Public and Revolutionary Courts in Civil Matters, approved 21 Farvardin 1379, with subsequent amendments. National Laws and Regulations Database of Iran. [In Persian].
Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran. (2002). Law on the Association of Official Experts of Justice, approved 18 Farvardin 1381, with subsequent amendments. National Laws and Regulations Database of Iran. [In Persian].

Home

Submit

Contact Us

Forthcoming Articles