Analysis of Legal Protection in Public Procurement Procedures in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Analysis of Legal Protection in Public Procurement Procedures in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author(s): Stanka Pejaković
Contributor(s): Nazifa Savčić (Translator), Sanela Hrlović (Editor)
Subject(s): Criminal Law, Law on Economics, Public Finances, Corruption - Transparency - Anti-Corruption, Commercial Law, Court case
Published by: Analitika – Centar za društvena istraživanja
Keywords: BiH; public procurement; procedure; legal protection; analysis;
Summary/Abstract: Legal protection in public procurement procedures implies a set of legal norms which govern the mechanisms available to participants in these procedures with the objective of protecting their rights and interests. The legal protection framework ensures the realization of several important objectives of public procurement. Competitive and transparent procedures in public procurement assist legal public authorities to get the best value for money when they procure products and services. This results in cost-effective spending of public funds, faster economic growth and greater competitiveness among entrepreneurs. Open and transparent procedures in public procurement influence prevention of discrimination, cronyism and corruption. From the standpoint of the European Union (EU) the objective of public procurement is also to open the market of public procurement for member states, enabling the participation of entrepreneurs in public procurement procedures outside the boundaries of a particular state. Legal protection is very important for the realization of the above objectives of public procurement. Legal protection regulations should ensure equal legal position for all entrepreneurs in public procurement, the efficient and timely implementation of public procurement procedures, and should also enhance legal security in this area. Unregulated or insufficiently regulated legal protection may cause direct damage to the economy as it enables the choosing of bids that are not necessarily the best. The fallout of this includes other negative effects (political, economic, sociological). Efficient legal protection increases the trust of the public in the transparency of procedures, and encourages entrepreneurs to participate in public procurement procedures. Efficient legal protection can also act as a preventive measure against a concrete contracting authority or other contracting authorities, in the sense of ensuring that there is no infringement of public procurement rules. Apart from their prominent position in any legal system, national norms regarding legal protection in the EU member states, candidate status states and accession states are founded in European Law, and as such, they are the result of the harmonization of national legislation with the requirements of European law. In this way the harmonization of legal protection in member states, candidate states and potential candidates is achieved. The request for harmonized procedures in member states derives from an understanding that different procedures in different states have a negative impact on the functioning of a unified European market. The European legislation is important for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) not only as an instrument for the strengthening of the economy, but also in respect of the commitments undertaken earlier to gradually harmonize BiH legislation with that of the EU. One of the areas where BiH legislation is harmonized with European law is the area of public procurement. The subject-matter of this study is legal protection in public procurement procedures in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is implemented as an administrative and administrative-judicial protection, in the manner of critically deliberating the relevant issues of legal protection of participants in public procurement procedures. The present analysis deals with the existing rules that govern legal protection in public procurement procedures having in mind the potential consequences of incomplete or inadequate regulation, which affects the rights and interests of participants in public procurement procedures. Above all, this study is focused on the analysis of rules which govern the basic legal remedy available to participants in the public procurement procedures against the decision of the contracting authority of the aforementioned action or omission of action or the procedure of the contracting authority, followed by an analysis of appeal in an administrative dispute. In this sense, the present study suggests the direction of possible legal intervention which could improve the legal protection rules in public procurement procedures in BiH with regard to the relevant European and comparative law. Accordingly, in addition to a review of legal protection in accordance with the existing de lege lata, this study also includes questions with regard to what this protection should be in view of the requirements of European law (de lege ferenda). The initial assumption in this analysis is that legal protection in any state is regulated independently, but the autonomy of member states (and future member states that have already undertaken some commitments) is restricted by EU rules. As a result, the conclusions in this study inevitably deal with the influence of the relevant European law regarding the provision of effective legal remedies in public procurement procedures by observing the practice of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg (the European Court), and the regulations that govern the availability of legal remedies in the area of legal protection in some member states that have implemented European law (such as Croatia and Slovenia). The objective of this study is to see what lessons can be drawn from the experience of the aforementioned states and in what manner these lessons can be applied in BiH law with the aim of further improving the legislation of legal protection. Thus an insight is gained about the relationship between legal regulation and practice, and in this respect the inadequacies in the existing legal protection norms in public procurement procedures in BiH can be observed. The presentation of the methodological and analytical framework of this study (Chapter 2) is followed by a summary of the relevant EU legal acts (Chapter 3) and a subsequent analysis of the legal and institutional framework of public procurement in BiH (Chapter 4). In the chapter on legal protection (Chapter 5) procedural rules are analyzed. The results of this analysis are summed up in the Conclusion (Chapter 6). In Chapter 7 there is a list of proposals for possible decisions with regard to the previously recognized problems.

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