Reforming the public sector in the EU: the new public procurement regime

Commentary on the significance of the regulation of public procurement in the common market and impact on increased potential for doing business with the public sector. Article by Christopher Bovis (Professor of Law and Jean Monnet Chair in European Business Law, Lancashire Law School) published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London

Public procurement in the EU: jurisprudence and conceptual directions

The present article reviews the emerging conceptual themes from the case law of the European Court of Justice which have triggered the revision of the public procurement Directives, and the alignment of the public procurement acquis with the Europe 2020 Growth Strategy. The Court's jurisprudence has instrumentally influenced the interpretation of public procurement legal concepts such as contracting authorities, the remit of selection and qualification criteria, the parameters for contracting authorities to use environmental and social considerations as award criteria and the principles which underpin the remedies in the award of public contracts.However, the exhaustive harmonization which is inherent in the public procurement directives has caused significant porosity and limitations in the effectiveness of the public procurement acquis. Service concessions, contracts awarded by a contracting authority to another contracting authority on the basis of exclusive rights, public-public partnerships and in-house contractual relations, and contracts which fall below the stipulated value thresholds all reflect upon the forthcoming reforms of the public procurement regime

Replacing CCT with “best value”

Professor Christopher Bovis (University of Central Lancashire) assesses the concept of best value in delivering public services, following the demise of the compulsory competitive tendering (CCT) regime. He compares it with its predecessor and elaborates on the interrelation between best value and related regimes of public sector management. Article published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and its Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London

Natura i charakter rynków publicznych oraz ich wpływ na zamówienia publiczne w Unii Europejskiej

The regulation of public procurement in the European Union focuses on the internal market and its function in accordance with the fundamental freedoms. It aims at installing a behaviour for the public sector which is similar dynamics to the function of private markets. However, the regulation of public procurement reflects a characteristic of the relevant markets which is sui generis and has as main feature the pursuit public interest. These markets are referred to as public markets, which are distinct from private markets in their driver. Public markets exist to deliver public interest, whereas private markets exist to allow operators pursue profit. The regulation of public procurement rests on harmonisation which as a legal and policy process has been selected by European institutions to convey such regulation through directives. The latter are legal instruments which provide frameworks for implementation of the acquis communautaire but allow the required flexibility through discretion which is afforded to Member States in relation to the forms and methods of their implementation.Regulacja zamówień publicznych koncentruje się na rynku wewnętrznym Unii Europejskiej i jego funkcjonowaniu zgodnie z podstawowymi swobodami. Ma ona na celu określenie zachowania sektora publicznego posiadającego dynamikę podobną do rynków prywatnych. Regulacja zamówień publicznych odzwierciedla jednak cechy rynków tego sektora, stanowiących kategorię samą w sobie, których cechą charakterystyczną jest realizacja interesu publicznego. Rynki te określane są jako rynki publiczne, różniące się od rynków prywatnych rodzajem bodźca do działania. Rynki publiczne mają za zadanie realizację interesu publicznego, podczas gdy rynki prywatne są po to, by przedsiębiorcy mogli osiągać zyski. Regulacja zamówień publicznych opiera się na harmonizacji, która jako proces kreowania prawa i polityki została wybrana przez instytucje europejskie do tworzenia regulacji za pośrednictwem dyrektyw. Dyrektywy są instrumentami prawnymi zapewniającymi ramy do wdrażania dorobku wspólnotowego, umożliwiając jednocześnie wymaganą elastyczność poprzez swobodę decyzyjną przyznaną państwom członkowskim co do form i metod ich wdrażania

Policy and institutional enablers of public–private partnerships in the electricity sector in Uganda: a multi-level and path dependence perspective

Purpose: This paper explains the evident disproportionality in the levels of adoption of the modality of public–private partnerships (PPPs) in Uganda by tracing the peculiar preconditions and enablers of the model's relative high adoption in the electricity sector. Design/methodology/approach: Key conceptual suggestions from historical institutionalism (HI), critical juncture and path dependence are used to orient the data collection and analysis. The direct experiences and perceptions of key informants involved in policy, regulation and operations in the electricity sector are thematically analyzed. Findings: The primacy of specific policy, institutional decisions and actions sequentially undertaken at the international, national and sectorial levels in shaping the conceivability and possibility of PPP modality is foregrounded. In particular, international advisory for the changed role of the state and the government's subsequent decision to enact and reenact specific institutional frameworks at the national and sectorial levels created important disruptions to the status quo and paved a new and relatively stable institutional path conducive for private sector participation. Research limitations/implications: Theoretically, the paper demonstrates the ability and power of HI to support the exploration and framing of multilevel and path-dependent explanations of institutional development and policy adoption. Practically, suggestions in terms of policy, legal and regulatory enablers for the adoption of PPP are made to shape practitioners' decision-making Practical implications: Practically, suggestions in terms of policy, legal and regulatory enablers for the adoption of PPP are made to shape practitioners' decision-making. Originality/value: The importance of considering factor combinations and sequences in explaining the emergence, adoption and proliferation of public policy instruments and phenomena is underscored. In addition, the discourse on PPPs is moved beyond rationalization on how to even out their adoption (and subsequently the associated benefits) across sectors

The Gascoigne family, c. 1309-1592: gentry and identity

This thesis is an examination of the family in the late medieval and Tudor period. It is intended to demonstrate the potential of gentry studies which adopt an interdisciplinary framework through a combination of history and archaeology. It is also an examination of gentry identity and its relationship to the family. A single family will be used for this examination: the Gascoigne family of Yorkshire. Multiple branches will be examined, including the branches of Gawthorpe, Lasingcroft, Cardington and Hunslet. This enables the assessment to include the variances in identities between each branch of the family. Ultimately, this investigation reveals the complexity of identity within a singular family and posits the consequences of this in the wider historiographical debate. Chapter One of this thesis will introduce the Gascoigne Family. It will bring together evidence from a myriad of different sources to recreate, as far as possible, the Gascoigne family history. Chapter Two assesses the social networks of the family, and ultimately discerns that career-based networks tend to be short-lived in comparison with networks based upon kinship and location. Chapters Three and Four consider the involvement of the Gascoigne family in politics and the law. They examine office-holding and magnate affinities, and propose that the appointment of William Gascoigne I as Chief Justice of England was the culmination of a period of politicisation within the legal sphere. Chapter Five examines the family's relationship with the landscape, with specific focus on tomb monuments and manorial complexes. This thesis concludes by showing that the Gascoigne family as a single entity cannot be adequately defined, and that interdisciplinary frameworks offer an opportunity for a deeper understanding of the past

The ten-year anniversary of public procurement reforms: a critical assessment of the European Union public procurement Directives

This article evaluates the objectives of the legal framework on public procurement in the European Union and assesses its contribution to the internal market. The author provides for a critical analysis of the evolution of the public procurement acquis which reveals an environment occupied with conceptual and regulatory interfaces, exhibiting advanced interoperability with legal systems of Member States and faced with continuous market-driven modality changes in awarding and financing public contracts for the delivery of public services

Utilities procurement: the state of play before Brexit

Utilities procurement resembles commercial procurement practices and its regulation provides many deviations from the Public Sector Procurement Directives. Utilities procurement regulation is different from public sector procurement regulation and its development has taken a different path in the European legal integration. This pathadheres basically to the same principles but with notable exceptions and enhanced flexibility for utilities procurement. The exit of the the United Kingdom from the EU brings a dilemma, whether to endorse a regime of three decades and follow its paradigm or create a new set of rules for entities which are operating in the utilities sectors