The Fundamental Principles Drawn from the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Field of Public Procurement and Concessions

• Main Author: Catalin-Silviu SARARU
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Danubius University 2010-11-01
• Series: Acta Universitatis Danubius: Juridica
• Subjects: public contracts; case-law; principles; transparency; impartiality
• Online Access: http://journals.univ-danubius.ro/index.php/juridica/article/view/674/612

This article aims to present major guidelines in case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) in the field of public procurement and concessions. Court, with the mission to enforce EU law in the interpretation and uniform application of the Treaties, has contributed to establishing the content of the principles which apply in the award, conclusion, amendment and termination of public procurement contracts and concessions, and in shaping the principles applicable to review against abuses carried out by the contracting entity in the award procedure. This article analyzed the principles of transparency and impartiality in the award of these contracts and described the means by which these goals are achieved in practice: non-discriminatory description of the subject-matter of the contract, equal treatment of operators involved in awarding the contract, mutualrecognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence, the principle of equal treatment of public and private operators, appropriate time-limits in which the undertakings concerned of any Member State are able to prepare their offers. Ensuring the application of EU rules in the field of public contractscan not be achieved without the existence of an effective judicial review based on the principle of effectiveness means legal action and the principle of equivalence. Knowledge the content of theseprinciples is particularly important for a uniform application of EU law on public contracts in all Member States.