.png)
What is public procurement law?
(Droit de la commande publique)
Public procurement encompasses the contracts signed by public purchasers (or certain private purchasers) to meet their needs.
This concept refers to different kind of contracts: public works contract (marché public de travaux), supply contract (marché de fourniture), service contract (marché de service), concession contract (contrat de concession).
Public procurement law regulates:
-
The conclusion of those contracts:
The public procurement Code (Code de la commande publique) regulates the conclusion of public procurement contracts, but also sets the rules for advertising, submission and study of offers and applications.
If a buyer wants to conclude a public contract, they would have to organise a certain type of procedure depending on the contract amount or it's subject:
-
Standardised procedure (procédure formalisée) (for example: tender procedure (appel d'offres)),
-
Customized procedure (procédure adaptée, or Marché A Procédure Adaptée (MAPA)),
-
Procedure without any advertizing or call for competition (procédure sans publicité ni mise en concurrence).
-
The performance of those contracts:
Public procurement law deals with the entirety of a contract's life span, such as the contractor's payment, sub-contracting modalities, amendments to the contract or its termination...
-
Dispute resolution:
Disputes erupting from public procurement contracts can be solved by taking the litigation before the administrative judge (contractual and no-contractual liability), or with an amicable resolution (conciliation, mediation, settlement or arbiration procedure).
