On May 14, 2015, Center for Social Research Analitika organized an expert discussion on legal protection in public procurement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aim of the event was to point out the factors that affect the restriction of the right to protection in the area of ​​public procurement, as well as suggest possible solutions for the improvement of this segment of the public procurement system.

The adoption of the new Public Procurement Law in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is being implemented since November 2014, made significant steps in the direction of ensuring available and effective legal protection in public procurement procedures in BiH. However, the analysis carried out by the Centre for Social Research Analitika showed that the area of ​​legal protection in public procurement in BiH is not sufficiently standardized, which does not provide the necessary guarantees of the availability and effectiveness of the protection of the rights of undertakings.

Namely, the analysis shows that the legislator in BiH has not clearly and explicitly proclaimed the principles of the review procedure, and the Law on Public Procurement does not fully resolve the issue of locus standi of specific government bodies. The public interest requires that the state authorities, which by its very nature take care of the legality and have authority to maintain public interest (Public Procurement Agency, the State Prosecution, the Competition Council), have a standing in the review procedure. The powers of the contracting authority regarding the complaint are too loose and thus do not ensure objectivity and impartiality, because the appeal is decided by the same entity that conducted the procedure of public procurement.

The discussion was attended by representatives of business associations, public institutions and experts in the field of public procurement, with the exchange of ideas among the panelists Stanka Pejaković, PhD, expert in the field of legal protection in public procurement, Željka Klobučar from the Procurement Review Body B&H and Ivan Kutleša from the Ministry of Justice B&H, moderated by Nermina Voloder from the Center for Social Research Analitika.

The expert discussion is a part of the project "Open Public Procurement in Bosnia and Herzegovina", funded by the European Union, and co-funded by the UK Government. The project is implemented by the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN), Center for Social Research Analitika, and Public Interest Advocacy Center (CPI).