Recourse mechanisms for supplier complaints Introduction and points

Recourse mechanisms for supplier complaints Introduction and points for discussion Government of Morocco/OECD Workshop on Enhancing Integrity in Public Procurement Robert D. Anderson WTO Secretariat Rabat, 4 April 2008

Preliminaries l Complementarity of international organizations’ work on government procurement (WTO, OECD, UNCITRAL, etc. ) • l l Common underlying values and concerns with differentiated mandates – but much room for cooperation Relevance of WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) to countries in this region • • Pending GPA accessions of Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia Revised GPA text: more “development-friendly” • Go first to procurement” For more info: www. wto. org “trade topics”, then “government 2

Role of recourse mechanisms l l l Note: also called “domestic review procedures”, “bid challenges”, etc. Purpose: to provide fast, effective remedies for irregularities in the tendering process relating to acts of procuring entities Important venue for addressing legitimate concerns of dis-satisfied bidders (fosters trust) Ideally, harnesses energies of dis-satisfied bidders to serve public interests and goals (fairness and integrity of procurement system) Therefore, complement to public audit and related supervisory functions 3

Issues concerning the structure of recourse mechanisms l Importance of independence, impartiality, procedural fairness • • • l l Important to credibility of process Also helps re: avoiding/shutting down spurious/opportunistic complaints Can be achieved in different ways (courts, administrative agencies, etc. ) Timeliness is essential • • Window to challenge should be not too short, nor too long Challenges possible at pre-award and post-award phases Practicality of remedies (may include interim measures, corrective action and compensation) 4

Summary/Benefits of effective recourse mechanisms Ø l l Ø Ø Domestic review & public audit functions are complementary/mutually supportive Increase transparency and integrity of procurement system. Prevent corruption Increase private sector’s trust in procurement system, thereby often increasing competition Reliance on supplier’s interest/initiative can serve public goals in a cost-efficient manner (but requires proper system design) But note: recourse mechanisms can’t solve all problems (e. g. supplier collusion issues). We still need effective public oversight/audit bodies. 5

Thank you robert. anderson@wto. org 6