Contract law and public tenders

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Bruno Lombaert

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The classes on contract law and public tenders are divided into several parts. Initially, the European and Belgian regulatory framework will be presented, as well as the core principles of the subject (equality, competition, transparency, proportionality, etc.). The scope of application of ratione personae (the concept of the procuring body) and ratione materiae (the concept of public tenders and other public contracts) will then be studied.

The second part will be devoted to various procurement processes (ordinary procedures and those involving negotiations) regarding public tenders and concessions, as well as related procedures (publications, specifications, qualitative selection, examination of offers).

Once a public tender (or the concession) has been awarded, the contract must be concluded and executed, subject to special rules which reserve unilateral powers to the procuring authority. These contractual rules of execution, set out in a Royal decree, are analysed from the angles of both public and private law.

Finally, the legal and jurisdictional regime will be studied in terms of public tenders and concessions, as established by law, with a view to meeting the requirements of effective appeal set out in European law.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

The course will enable students who have followed the course thoroughly and passed the exam to:

• master fundamental concepts in the subject, from a theoretical and practical point of view. The course will be a balance between theoretical teaching enabling an understanding of relevant concepts, and more practical parts aiming at applying these concepts to real cases (tender documents, procedural records of the State Council, etc.);
• apply concepts to practical situations similar to those encountered in the professions to which the degrees give access. The classes and exercises are designed and focussed on situations encountered by officials and civil servants in procurement and legal departments, specialist lawyers and judges, corporate lawyers participating in drafting tender submissions, etc.;
• develop a critical analysis of the existing solutions, controversies and systems covered in class.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

This course is aimed at Masters students in law who therefore wish to specialise in the subject. They must have acquired a grasp of basic concepts through the course on general administrative law given by Mr. Pâques (in particular Chapter 2 on contractual action), a course which they must have followed and passed.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The course will be divided into theoretical learning sessions and practical work sessions based on legal documents: tender notices, specifications, appeals for suspension to the Council of State, etc. Working documents will be distributed in advance so that students can prepare for the classes.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course

Recommended or required readings

The course material is the publication edited by B. Lombaert: Droit des marchés publics. Passation, exécution, recours, La Charte, 2020.

For each theory class, slides will be prepared in order to support the oral presentation.

Reading material (other than the course material) will be recommended on a regular basis for certain classes: relevant jurisprudence, specialised articles, etc.

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

written exam ( open-ended questions ) AND oral exam


Additional information:

The examination will essentially aim at assessing students' capacity to resolve legal questions related to concrete situations, to apply the rules taught to situations not specifically covered during class, and to use their normative texts in order to find relevant information as well as to form concise and rigorous responses.

Part of the exam will be devoted to the written resolution of a case (based on a real tender document or public contract).

Another part will consist of orally presenting an issue relating to the subject. The presentation of this issue will give rise to additional questions which will test the students' knowledge of the subject.

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

Contacts

Association of one or more MOOCs

Items online