The Public Procurement Law of 11 September 2019, which came into force on 1 January 2021 (“Law”), ushered in many changes in the public procurement regime. One of the underlying assumptions of the legislators when designing these changes was to significantly improve the efficiency of public procurement. The principle is expressly stated in Article 17.1(2) of the Law:
A contracting authority shall award a contract in a manner that ensures (…) that the best effects of the contract, including social, environmental, and economic, are achieved, to the extent that any of these effects are achievable in the relevant contract, as against the expenditures incurred.
In what specific changes is the principle manifested? The principle of efficiency is demonstrated for example in Article 83 of the Law. Pursuant to the provision, before a tender is initiated, the contracting authority is required to analyze its needs and requirements, taking into account the type and value of the contract. The contracting authority is under no obligation to satisfy
the above requirement only if the contract is awarded under the procedure of negotiations without prior publication or single source procurement. The Law does not specify the format that such analysis should follow, indicating merely the information that should be included in it, as well as its subject-matter. The analysis of needs and requirements should help the contracting authority to select the best procedure for conducting the procurement.
The legislators also relied on the principle of efficiency when drafting Article 84 of the Law. The provision allows the contracting authority to conduct market consultations before launching procurement proceedings and to advise contractors about its plans
and requirements for the contract. When conducting consultations, the contracting authority may seek advice of experts, public authorities, or contractors. This is a tool that should also assist the contracting authority in obtaining the information necessary to conduct the procurement in the most efficient manner.
Under Article 61 of the Law, the legislators have provided for a requirement that information, documents, and statements should be exchanged between the contracting authority and the contractor using electronic communications. This should significantly speed up communication between the two parties and thus increase the efficiency of the whole process.
Last but not least, another significant measure aimed at improving the efficiency of contract performance is the requirement to draw up a contract performance report, should certain specific circumstances occur in the process. The issue has been regulated under Article 446 of the Law. The contracting authority is required to prepare the report if the amount allocated to the
contract has increased, contractual penalties have been imposed upon the contractor, delays in contract performance have occurred, or if either party has rescinded (or terminated) the contract in whole or in part. The report is required to include specific
information as listed under the Law. The purpose of the report is to avoid similar difficulties in the future and, what follows, to make the performance of similar contracts more efficient.
Thus, as becomes evident, the legislators have used a number of solutions aimed at improving the efficiency of the public procurement process. Will they be effective? The Law has not been in effect long enough to draw any definitive conclusions. Many of the measures employed rely on the involvement of the parties to achieve their purpose. Should the parties treat such measures as the analysis of the needs and requirements as just another formality to be ticked off, these measures will not be effective. One should therefore wait with the final assessment of these changes to see how the parties to the public procurement process react to them.