Title: Transparency in public procurement: a study of the European Union directive for public works, supply and services contracts

Authors: Adekunle Sabitu Oyegoke

Addresses: Construction Management and Surveying Discipline, School of the Built Environment, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, United Kingdom

Abstract: Corruption in construction contracts is becoming widespread due to lack of transparency in procurement and project delivery process. The aim of this paper is to examine the level of transparency in the EU directive for public works contracts 2004/18/EC. The study is carried out through a literature review, a content analysis of the Directive 2004/18/EC and case law from the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The types of enforcements allowed for by the Directive and those used by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) are also examined. The paper concludes that there are a number of articles that encourage transparency and those that impede transparency through legal restrictions/exclusions. The directive addressed the procurement procedure superficially which leads to a raft of problems in implementation stage. The research is limited to Directive 2004/18/EC. The paper will increase client's awareness on transparency and some problems associated with implementation stage through case law.

Keywords: transparency; public procurement; EC Directives; European Parliament; European Council; EC Directive 2004/18; procedures coordination; public works contracts; public supply contracts; public service contracts; European Union; construction industry; UK; United Kingdom; project delivery; case law; European Court of Justice; ECJ; legal enforcement; Office of Fair Trading; OFT; legal restrictions; legal exclusions; implementation stages; Alcatel; Austria; Siemens; Sag-Schrack Anlagentechnik; government departments; local government; municipalities; Alexandroupolis; Greece; Lianakis; Letting International; London; Newham; McLaughlin & Harvey; Northern Ireland; Henry Brothers; business excellence.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2012.046639

International Journal of Business Excellence, 2012 Vol.5 No.3, pp.195 - 219

Published online: 31 Jul 2014 *

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