GROUNDS FOR EXCLUSION IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: MEASURES IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION IN

Corruption is, unfortunately, continually revealed in numerous areas of public affairs, but particularly in the field of public procurement, since few activities create greater temptations or offer more opportunities for corruption than public sector procurement. Civil law makes various provisions to deal with this phenomenon: repressive measures - more proper to criminal law - and preventive measures that aim to deter illegal activities. One preventive measure intended to reduce the opportunities for corrupt conduct is the exclusion from public contract award procedures of an applicant who has previously committed offences connected with corruption. The most recent Community Directives on public procurement make it mandatory to exclude from public procurement any bidder who has been sentenced by a final judgment having the force of res judicata for acts of corruption, fraud or participation in the activities of a criminal organisation. This paper assesses these measures and their impact on reducing corruption in public procurement.