Practice: Ways and means

Chris Hoyle reflects on some practical procurement problems ‘A procurement is not normally part of most people‘s day jobs. That‘s why it‘s all too easy to forget the impending expiry of a contract.‘ If I were to be asked, what are the three most common types of ad hoc situations faced by a procurement officer, …
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Update: Sign of the times

Jorren Knibbe concludes his review of some noteworthy decisions of the UK and European courts ‘It is not clear from the EU procurement Directives how they are intended to operate where a technical specification is discriminatory but can be justified. In those circumstances, the result under the Directives and under Art 34 ought to be …
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Update: The best of times, the worst of times

In part one of a two-part consideration, Jorren Knibbe assesses judicial developments in the first half of 2017 ‘Until there is higher judicial authority on the point, any defendant to a significant damages claim will have an incentive to argue that its breaches (if any) were not sufficiently serious.’ This article describes developments in public …
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Practice: Making changes to public contracts

Richard Hough examines the procurement law issues involved in changing a public contract ‘If the proposed change is a “material” one, it is possible that the amended contract could be considered to be a new contract and, if not procured under the Regulations, the authority could be challenged for being in breach of the Regulations.’ …
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Legislation: Grand designs

Catherine Wolfenden investigates the implementation of the draft EU directives ‘While there is still plenty of scope for legal argument interpreting Article 72, nonetheless the new provisions are likely to mean that modifications to public contracts can be made with great confidence and that a new procurement process is not required.’Three new draft Directives on …
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Commercial: Taking stocks

Uddalak Datta considers the implications of Pressetext on corporate transactions ‘The decision in Pressetext provides that amendments to the provisions of a public contract during the currency of the contract may constitute the award of a new contract when they are materially different in character from the original contract.’Following the decision of the CJEU, in …
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Framework Agreements: House of cards

Ruth Smith and Jenny Beresford-Jones investigate the trickier issues of framework agreements ‘In the absence of case law on the specific point, the safest approach is only to use the mini competition award criteria set out in the framework agreement.’This is the second part of a two-part article, in which we shall discuss tricky issues …
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Legislation: Illuminating light regulation

Christopher Brennan considers the impact of the proposed EC Directives ‘Purchasers will need to comply with the general principles of equal treatment and transparency, and have regard to certain qualitative aspects when awarding contracts for those services.’Public procurement law is set to change following proposed new directives issued by the European Commission in December. Updating …
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Legislation: Top ten changes

Joanne McDowall reviews the new UK procurement regulations ‘The administrative burden on all parties may reduce significantly as a result of provisions designed to reduce the documentation requirements of procurement processes.’During the course of the next couple of years we will have yet another new set of procurement regulations in the UK, this time in …
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Litigation: Below the belt

Jonathan Parker assesses the treatment of abnormally low tenders ‘In the current economic climate, increasing numbers of EOs appear to be disposed to submit perilously low tenders in an effort to maintain their cash flow. EOs submitting tenders that are too low can have disastrous consequences for a number of parties.’The coming into force of …
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