Novelties regarding the protection of bidders’ rights in public procurement procedures

Newsletter 123

The new Public Procurement Law (RS Official Gazette No 91/19), applicable as of 1 July 2020, provides for a series of new solutions in the implementation of public procurement procedures, some of which notably affect the procedure for the protection of bidders’ rights.

The procedure for the protection of rights is defined as a procedure for legal protection in public procurement, awarding of contract, in accordance with the law governing public and private partnerships and concessions and in other cases.

Legal standing

Unlike the earlier Law, the 2019 Law on Public Procurement (new Public Procurement Law) provides for a broader definition of legal standing – any person with an interest in the awarding of a certain contract not only in a specific public procurement procedure (as envisaged by the 2012 Law on Public Procurement), but also in a new procedure[VT2] [AM3] , will have the legal standing to file a Request. Legal standing is therefore linked to a specific public procurement contract, rather than to a specific public procurement procedure. Thus, a person filing a Request may be an enterprise, or a bidder that:

• has or had interest in the awarding of a certain contract or a framework agreement;
• shows that it has suffered or could have suffered damage due to the conduct of the contracting authority, which is contrary to the provisions of the Law, as a result of awarding the contract or framework agreement, contrary to the provisions of the Law.