Transparent Public Procurement in BiH: Between Theory and Practice

This policy report aims to analyze the extent to which the legal framework in Bosnia and Herzegovina ensures transparency in the entire procurement process, from the planning stage to the execution of the contract.

Themes: Governance and Service DeliveryTransparency and Open Government

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The new Law on Public Procurement, in force since November 2014, stipulated a series of new solutions that should contribute to improving the transparency of public procurement in BiH. But despite the apparent progress, current provisions of the law to some extent continue to limit the fulfillment of the principle of transparency in public procurement in BiH.

Among other things, the law did not stipulate the obligatory publication of procurement plans for contracting authorities who do not have their own website, and procurement plans are not being published on the public procurement central portal. Transparency in public procurement has been reduced by the fact that contracting authorities are not obliged to publish information on the contracts concluded on the basis of the competing requests and direct agreements, which is a significant omission given that the majority of contracts are concluded as a result of these procedures. In addition, contracting authorities lack the guidelines for the application of the criteria for evaluating offers, primarily the criterion of economically most advantageous offer. Also, the law did not create the conditions for the publication of the contract concluded with the selected bidder, although this would significantly improve access to information of public importance.

Having in mind the fact that the regulation of public procurement plays a significant role in the process of BiH's accession to the European Union, the analysis of the legal framework that regulates public procurement in BiH was made taking into account international standards, particularly European Union directives and the rulings of the European Court of Justice, as well as examples of good practice in the EU countries and the region. In this report, recommendations were formulated to improve transparency related to different phases and aspects of public procurement.

The policy report is part of the project Open Public Procurement in Bosnia and Herzegovina jointly implemented by the Centre for Investigative Reporting (CIN), Analitika - Centre for Social Research, and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (CPI). The Project is financed by the European Union and co-financed by the UK Government.

The publication in English is available HERE.

The publication in local languages is available HERE.

This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the author and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.