Claim and Contracting Officer
An agency may not reverse the Contracting Officer's final decision through the appointment of a successor Contracting Officer who would make another determination. This is because the contract was between the agency and the other party, and not the third party and the contracting officer (Hastings, 2009). It is essential to understand that this rule protects the third party involved in the contract by ensuring that the obligations of the agreement are duly performed. Also, this rule ensures that there is continuity in the operations of an agency. This is because the agency does not have to start working on previous contracts every time they hire a new contracting officer. The advice given to the contracting officer that he should take great pains in the wording of their claim was to warn him that his mistakes could not be undone (Hastings, 2009). It is based on this knowledge that the contracting officer should ensure that he has removed any loopholes in the claim he is working on.
This rule is vital to the performance of contracts, and also in formulating claims. If this rule was not in place claims made by an agency could be subject to alteration every time they hire a new contracting officer. This is mainly because different contracting officers have varied approaches in filing their claims; however, this does not mean that a single approach is better than the other (Hastings, 2009). It is based on this knowledge that it is more appropriate for a new contracting officer to support claims made by their predecessor rather than trying to change them. Also, this rule is essential as it emphasizes the need for accuracy and clarity when a contracting officer is filing their claim. This is due to the fact that such a claim cannot be altered in the future.
References
Hastings, J. (2009). So you want to be an insurance agent, 2nd Edition. New Jersey: Wiley
