July/August 2011 #1 – Law Journals

Tendering: Top Trumps

David McGowan and Michelle Boles review the case law on disclosure of third-party confidential documents in procurement litigation ‘Before disclosing confidential information to a competitor, the national court must allow the affected economic operator an opportunity to plead confidentiality.’The lot of the unsuccessful tenderer is not a happy one. Fortunately, there is help at hand. …

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Bribery Act: Not for those who wait too late

Catherine Wolfenden examines some areas of forthcoming reform of the procurement regulations ‘The Bribery Act 2010 repeals the existing UK law on bribery, much of which is outdated and confusing. There are two general offences in the Act: one prohibiting offering, promising or giving bribes (s1); and the other prohibiting requesting, agreeing to receive or …

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Contract: Return to sender

Anthony Woolich, Simon Burden and Jaime van der Eb consider the implications of the Bribery Act and the Proceeds of Crime Act for the ‘innocent’ company ‘A contract that has been entered into because of the payment of a bribe is not automatically void.’The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011. Readers …

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Remedies: Make your mind up

Peter Elliott and Mark Livsey analyse the law on contractual variation before and after Pressetext ‘It has long been recognised that a sufficient degree of change to a current contract could, in theory, constitute a new award of contract and that this ought potentially to be competed.’The question whether contracting authorities can safely make changes …

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Government: Power to the people

Angus Walker looks at the likely shape of the Localism Act ‘The result of a referendum is not binding on an authority, however, as the government favours “representative democracy” over “participative democracy”.’The Localism Bill promises to shake up local government and the planning system through a raft of changes under the umbrella of ‘localism’ or …

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Injunctions: In the balance

Ben Rayment discusses the continued application of the American Cynamid principles under the new Public Procurement Remedies Regime ‘Once the applicant for an interim injunction has passed the hurdle of a serious issue to be tried they must also demonstrate that damages would not be an adequate remedy, and, in the event that this is …

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Civil Procedure: Stand and deliver

Peter Jansen contemplates recent case law on injunctive relief ‘Sirius International Insurance Co v FAI General Insurance Ltd & ors and Simon Carves Ltd v Ensus UK Ltd demonstrated that an unjustified call on an on demand bond cannot be stopped without proof of fraud.’Historically, English courts were reluctant to injunct banks from paying unjustified …

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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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