Disputes arising from procurement

Public procurement is a highly regulated area. The law provides very powerful remedies for dissatisfied bidders but at the same time, restricts the time available for bidders to bring such challenges.

Key issues for public bodies and utilities participating in procurement and bidders hoping to win the contract include:

• urgent timings;
• the court process to use;
• the relevant regulations governing the procurement process; and
• changes to buyer requirements and whether a new process should be used (material change).

Anyone involved in this area who believes they may have reasons to dispute the process or is facing a possible challenge needs to take action immediately.

This section is maintained by Ian Tucker, John Houlden and Laura Wisdom of Burges Salmon LLP.