Four functions not to be confused
Deciding, designing, checking the works and organising are four distinct jobs, which the contract must keep apart even when one person carries out several of them. The client decides. The client sets the limite di spesa (spending limit), approves the design, chooses the contractor, authorises varianti (variations) and, if need be, withdraws from the contract. In private work "the authorisation must be proved in writing" (Civil Code, art. 1659, unofficial translation), and withdrawal remains the client's right, provided the appaltatore (the contractor) is indemnified for expenses, work carried out and loss of profit (Civil Code, art. 1671).
The progettista (the designer) designs, and the spending limit written into the appointment sets the economic boundary. According to a Corte di Cassazione decision reported by BibLus (Cass. civ. no. 8058/2023, concerning planning compliance, not budget), the designer "owes a result", a design that can actually be used; the law also requires the designer to provide in writing "all useful information on the foreseeable charges" together with an outline quote for the fee (Decree-Law 1/2012, art. 9(4)).
The direttore dei lavori (works director) checks the works and the accounts. In private work, according to the ANCE guide on variations (April 2024), the works director represents the client on technical matters and does not bind the client on prices and variations without express delegation. In public work, the director's duties are set by Annex II.14 (Allegato II.14) to Legislative Decree 36/2023.
The project manager organises. In private work the role has no statutory basis: the project manager's power over cost is exactly what the appointment confers.
Who signs what, who answers for what
The simplest way to avoid grey areas is a table attached to the contracts.
| Act affecting cost | Who proposes | Who decides in private work | Who decides in public work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spending limit | client, with technical support | client, in the designer's appointment | stazione appaltante (contracting authority), within the economic limits of the DIP (design brief) |
| Estimate at each stage | designer | client, who approves the stage | RUP, after verification and validation |
| Priced variation | works director or contractor | client, in writing | works director proposes, RUP assesses, contracting authority approves |
| New rate | works director and contractor, jointly | client, or works director if delegated in writing | RUP; contracting authority if the quadro economico (economic summary) is exceeded |
| Final cost forecast | works director or project manager | client | RUP |
In public work the chain is laid down in the rules. The works director proposes changes and variations to the RUP; the RUP assesses them; the contracting authority approves them (Annex II.14, art. 5(1) and (3)). New rates are approved by the RUP, but if they lead to expenditure above the economic summary they are approved by the contracting authority on the RUP's proposal (paras. 7 and 8). The works director answers for changes ordered or allowed to be carried out without authorisation (para. 4).
In private work the chain exists only if the client writes it down. A specification stating who may authorise a variation, up to what amount and in what form avoids the most common case: an instruction given on site by the technical adviser, carried out by the contractor and disputed by the client when the invoice arrives.
The private project manager: a scope to be written
A project manager without a written scope organises, but does not control cost. The appointment states at least the acts the project manager may perform for the client, the threshold above which the decision goes back to the client, the frequency of cost reporting and the link with the works director, so that the contractor does not receive instructions through two channels. The project manager replaces neither the works director nor the safety coordinators; and the "responsabile dei lavori" (works manager) whom Legislative Decree 81/2008 places alongside the client (art. 90) is a safety role, not a cost role.
In public work: the RUP holds the whole cycle
The contracting authority has a single person responsible for the whole life of the project. The RUP (responsabile unico del progetto, the single project manager) is appointed in the first act relating to the project and covers programming, design, award and performance (Legislative Decree 36/2023, art. 15(1)). The RUP directs performance with the support of the works director, the safety coordinator and the collaudatore (acceptance inspector) (art. 114(1)); the works director is appointed on the RUP's proposal before the award procedure starts (para. 2). The RUP can rely on a support unit and on support assignments of up to 1 per cent of the amount put out to tender (art. 15(6)). The general rules of the performance stage, seen from the bidder's side, are covered in the guide to performance of the public contract.
The articles in this branch
- The article Designer, works director, project manager: who answers for cost examines the remit, the contract and the guarantees on cost of each of these roles.
- The article The RUP and RUP support: who holds the budget of a public project follows the RUP from appointment to performance, with the support unit and the 1 per cent limit.
This article sets out the rules as they stood on the date of checking and is intended as professional guidance. It does not replace legal advice or an examination of the specific case.