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