Public procurement and access to justice: a legal and empirical study of the UK system

This article presents the findings of an empirical study into suppliers’ behaviour in enforcing EU public procurement law in the UK - where there is a low level of procurement litigation – and the factors influencing this. The study indicates that most suppliers have not perceived any breaches of EU...

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Main Authors: Arrowsmith, Sue, Craven, Richard
Format: Article
Published: Sweet and Maxwell 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35915/
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author Arrowsmith, Sue
Craven, Richard
author_facet Arrowsmith, Sue
Craven, Richard
author_sort Arrowsmith, Sue
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description This article presents the findings of an empirical study into suppliers’ behaviour in enforcing EU public procurement law in the UK - where there is a low level of procurement litigation – and the factors influencing this. The study indicates that most suppliers have not perceived any breaches of EU procurement law. It also indicates that, for cases where problems are perceived, recent reforms required by EU law have led to more complaints and legal actions, and enhanced the practical effectiveness of remedies. However, the study also reveals important remaining obstacles to litigation, in particular the high cost of High Court proceedings, fear of reprisals and (although to a lesser extent) the courts’ approach to interim relief. In the light of recent case law, these findings have interesting implications for the UK’s compliance with its EU obligations to provide effective supplier remedies, and suggest a need to consider a different approach.
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spelling nottingham-359152020-05-04T18:11:47Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35915/ Public procurement and access to justice: a legal and empirical study of the UK system Arrowsmith, Sue Craven, Richard This article presents the findings of an empirical study into suppliers’ behaviour in enforcing EU public procurement law in the UK - where there is a low level of procurement litigation – and the factors influencing this. The study indicates that most suppliers have not perceived any breaches of EU procurement law. It also indicates that, for cases where problems are perceived, recent reforms required by EU law have led to more complaints and legal actions, and enhanced the practical effectiveness of remedies. However, the study also reveals important remaining obstacles to litigation, in particular the high cost of High Court proceedings, fear of reprisals and (although to a lesser extent) the courts’ approach to interim relief. In the light of recent case law, these findings have interesting implications for the UK’s compliance with its EU obligations to provide effective supplier remedies, and suggest a need to consider a different approach. Sweet and Maxwell 2016-09-18 Article PeerReviewed Arrowsmith, Sue and Craven, Richard (2016) Public procurement and access to justice: a legal and empirical study of the UK system. Public Procurement Law Review, 6 . pp. 227-252. ISSN 0963-8245 Public procurement; access to justice; litigation; EU law; administrative law
spellingShingle Public procurement; access to justice; litigation; EU law; administrative law
Arrowsmith, Sue
Craven, Richard
Public procurement and access to justice: a legal and empirical study of the UK system
title Public procurement and access to justice: a legal and empirical study of the UK system
title_full Public procurement and access to justice: a legal and empirical study of the UK system
title_fullStr Public procurement and access to justice: a legal and empirical study of the UK system
title_full_unstemmed Public procurement and access to justice: a legal and empirical study of the UK system
title_short Public procurement and access to justice: a legal and empirical study of the UK system
title_sort public procurement and access to justice: a legal and empirical study of the uk system
topic Public procurement; access to justice; litigation; EU law; administrative law
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35915/