In 1992 EU directives were put in place to govern the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts. Updated in 2004, the directives had originally been designed to help establish a Single Market and encourage free and fair competition within the European Community. Another important aim was to professionalise the purchasing procedures of public sector service providers by enacting procurement rules, allowing them to obtain good value for money (savings and efficiency), while ensuring their integrity and transparency.

In addition to these procurement rules, public works, public supply and public service contracts are also governed by the European Treaty. In practice, this means that the public sector must look at whether contracts need to be put out to tender according to a particular procedure - EU or otherwise - before awarding them.

Public procurement rules are complex and very much evolving. New developments occur on a near-monthly basis. Consideration needs to be given not only to EU directives and national legislation, but also to the case law of the European Court and Dutch courts. Assessing whether a city council contract is subject to the EU rules, for example, will require a critical examination of those rules. Due to the broad interpretation given to a number of procurement-related definitions - including the definition of "contracting authority" - and the fact that the European Treaty is also applicable, the scope of application of EU procurement rules has widened considerably.

At Justion Advocaten, we have substantial in-house knowledge and expertise in the area of public procurement law. Our services include:

Advising on

• the obligation to put public works, supply and service contracts out to tender;
• the public procurement procedure to be followed;
• the selection and award criteria;
• the contract to be signed with the contracting authority;
• any dispute over the award of a public works, supply or service contract;

Our attorneys can handle public procurement procedures, assisting either the contracting authority or the tenderer and, where necessary, conduct legal proceedings on public procurement matters, including preliminary relief proceedings.