European Public procurement procedural legislation and the current public procurement review system

Abstract

The contentious-administrative jurisdiction and administrative law have been shaping the public contract awards control system. The new Central Administrative Court of Administrative Review and similar territorial bodies anchor administrative law in the public procurement sphere, but they can go as far as to affect the meaning of the contentious-administrative jurisdiction. In any case, they increase the requirements and, in Spanish law, this means increased rigour in administrative law, whilst in other countries this reality is hidden to the extent possible by preferring to approach the legal matter from the perspective of competition law. Despite possible references in comparative law, competition law organisations are not currently posing any threat to the traditional model in Spain, having assumed different domains or spheres of control. The true challenge is to ensure that the decisions adopted are more in keeping with the public interests and the justice interests of the bidders than in the past.