Procurement law includes all legal provisions that affect the awarding of public contracts to private companies.

In order to fulfill its public tasks, the state often needs services and material resources that it purchases from private service providers or companies. In procurement law, the procurement of these funds by the state is usually carried out according to legally regulated procedures, which must be observed by public contracting authorities when awarding contracts. Procurement law serves the state’s interests in using public money as economically and economically as possible. This is ensured in procurement law through fair competition. All market participants should have equal access to public contracts under public procurement law.

Procurement law is regulated by law primarily in the fourth part of the Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB) and in the Procurement Ordinance (VgV). In addition, the respective procurement and contract regulations (e.g. VOL, VOB, VOF) play a major role in procurement law. The national legal regulations (GWB, VgV) on public procurement law are influenced by European legal provisions, as non-discriminatory awarding of public contracts should also be guaranteed across borders.

Die zentralen Grundsätze im Vergaberecht sind in § 97 GWB normiert:

  • Principle of competition
  • Transparency requirement
  • Principle of equal treatment
  • Principle of competition
  • Promoting medium-sized businesses
  • Awarded to competent, efficient, law-abiding and reliable companies
  • Award to the most economical bid

Abschluss

German public procurement law is divided into two areas, depending on whether the value of the public contract reaches a certain threshold, because then the European legal regulations apply. If the value of the public contract is below this, these regulations do not apply directly.

On the following pages we will try to provide you with as much information as possible about public procurement law.

We also recommend the following pages on procurement law: