Legal advice for contracting authorities

Our law firm has won the title of the Law Firm of the Year 2021 in public procurement awarded by EPRAVO.CZ.

Almost every entity that manages finances or other values originating from public sources (taxes and fees in most cases) will be forced to process and announce a tender for a public contract or concession in the course of its existence. The subject-matter of a public contract or concession may involve a wide range of performance – purchase of goods, provision of services or construction works, amounting to hundreds of thousands or even billions of Czech crowns.

However, the process of awarding public contracts and concessions is complex, time-consuming and administratively demanding for many contracting authorities. When implementing tender procedures, the contracting authority must comply with a number of regulations, in particular Act No. 134/2016 Sb., on public procurement. The process of awarding public contracts and concessions is also supervised by several bodies – the Office for the Protection of Competition, administrative courts or subsidy providers. Our law firm therefore provides expert legal advice that is essential for the smooth running of the tender procedure and its successful conclusion to the satisfaction of all parties involved.

Tender processing 

First of all, the contracting authority must select an appropriate award procedure, taking into account the subject-matter and scope of the requested performance. In the case of smaller public contracts that do not exceed a set financial limit, it will typically be a simplified subthreshold procedure or a small-scale public contract; a large contract will usually be implemented by the contracting authority through an open procedure or a competitive procedure with negotiation.

The contracting authority subsequently prepares the tender documentation, i.e. a detailed set of documents, data, requirements and technical specifications by which the contracting authority defines the subject-matter of the public contract. In the tender documentation, the contracting authority must also specify the criteria for selecting the most advantageous bid. These may include the lowest bid price, as well as the supplier’s experience or whether the supplier uses environmentally friendly practices or employs people from disadvantaged groups.

Given the technical and legal complexity of the tender documentation, contracting authorities are strongly advised to work with experts. Our firm will be happy to assist you at this stage.

Course of the tender procedure for a public contract

Once the tender documentation is completed, the contracting authority may put out the public contract to tender. But it must first fulfil the publication obligation. In the case of a simplified subthreshold procedure and small-scale public contracts, it is sufficient for the contracting authority to invite potential suppliers to tender; for larger contracts, the contracting authority is obliged to publish a notice of opening the tender in the Journal of Public Procurement and, in the case of contracts exceeding a certain financial limit, in the EU Official Journal. At the same time, the contracting authority is obliged to publish the tender documentation on its profile – mostly on portals such as Tender arena, NEN or E-ZAK. This initiates the tender procedure for the public contract or concession. It is then up to the supplier – tenderer interested in performing the public contract for the contracting authority – to prepare its bid. During the tender procedure, the contracting authority communicates with the suppliers, for example, to clarify the tender documentation.

During the tender procedure, our law firm handles all administrative tasks for the contracting authority.

Evaluation of bids and supplier selection

Once the suppliers have submitted their bids and the relevant deadline has passed, the contracting authority may start evaluating the bids and eventually select the most advantageous bid based on the criteria set out in advance in the tender documentation. When selecting the most advantageous bid, it is necessary to comply with the law and select the supplier on the basis of objective rules. We provide all legal services in the evaluation of bids and selection of the supplier. 

Follow-up legal advice in the performance of the contract with the selected supplier

A successful tender procedure ends with the conclusion of a contract, under which the performance of the public contract may begin. However, the need for legal advice still exists – therefore, we provide support to the contracting authority even after the conclusion of the tender procedure.

Disputes

Despite all efforts, disputes may arise in the implementation of the tender procedure for a public contract, in which the contracting authority cannot avoid proceedings before the Office for the Protection of Competition or even administrative courts. In these disputes, legal advice is often vital for the contracting authority to properly defend its actions in the tender procedure.

Our law firm offers legal representation to contracting authorities before public procurement supervisory authorities. 

Individual legal services

In addition to the above activities, our law firm provides contracting authorities with individual advice, taking into account their specific requirements.

Our firm’s portfolio guarantees that we are able to provide highly professional legal advice to all contracting authorities of public contracts and concessions, regardless of the subject-matter or value of the requested performance.

What issues do we typically deal with in legal advice for contracting authorities?

• How to set the tender conditions for a public contract correctly, or how to process their changes?
• What is the correct way to proceed in the tender procedure?
• How to amend the contract with the selected supplier during the performance of the public contract?
• How to prepare tender and contractual documentation?
• How to revise tender and contractual documentation?
• How to implement a procedure for a public contract?
• How to request a clarification of the tender documentation?
• How to handle objections to the tender documentation or the contracting authority’s practices?
• How to publish all documents and forms?
• Ensuring all procedures for the selection of the supplier and conclusion of the contract
• Evaluating the results of the tender procedure
• Controlling and supervising the negotiation committees appointed by the contracting authority
• Full assessment of requests to participate, indicative bids and bids
• Communicating with the bidders
• Legal assistance regarding contracts with selected suppliers, in particular, assessing the possibility of contract amendments and drafting contract amendments
• Supervising the performance of public contracts 
• Assisting the contracting authority in communication with the Office for the Protection of Competition
• Preparing statements and other submissions in first instance proceedings before the Office for the Protection of Competition
• Preparing appeals against first instance decisions by the Office for the Protection of Competition
• Preparing administrative actions
• Representing before administrative courts
• Drafting legal opinions
• Preparing external examinations
• Drafting and revising internal regulations of the contracting authority