We use cookies to give you the best online experience. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy. Learn more here.Close Me
Following a consultation by the Scottish Government, the Public
Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2012 and the Utilities Contracts
(Scotland) Regulations 2012 have now been published. The
Regulations update their 2006 predecessors and include amendments
relating to the Bribery Act 2010. These amendments have the effect
of excluding those convicted of certain offences under the Bribery
Act from bidding for public sector contracts. The Regulations will
enter into force on 1 May 2012.
The Bribery Act 2010 creates four separate offences:
offering, promising or giving a bribe;
requesting, agreeing to receive or accepting a bribe;
bribing a foreign public official; and
failure of a commercial organisation to prevent bribery by
those acting on its behalf.
The new Regulations require public bodies to exclude tenderers
from a procurement process if the body has knowledge that the
business, its directors or any other person who has powers of
representation, decision or control over the company have been
convicted of the second and third offences listed above under the
Bribery Act.
Under the first three offences, conviction requires conduct
amounting to bribery to have occurred. However, the fourth offence
noted above does not require actual conduct amounting to bribery by
the business. Therefore, previous lobbying activities have pressed
that public bodies should not be required to exclude a potential
tenderer convicted for this offence. The new Regulations, while
mindful of this position, create a discretionary power for public
authorities to debar tenderers who have been convicted of this
offence. While debarment in such an instance is discretionary, the
consequences for companies could be severe. Unlike individual
criminal convictions, corporate convictions do not become
'spent' after a period of time. A conviction under the
Bribery Act could have the practical effect of prohibiting an
organisation from any further public procurement contract
opportunities indefinitely. The changes to the Regulations bring
Scotland into line with the law in England and Wales.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
To print this article, all you need is to be registered on Mondaq.com.
Click to Login as an existing user or Register so you can print this article.
Today's entry reports that the Growth and Infrastructure Bill has finally completed its passage through Parliament and will become the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 today.
When the Coalition Government came to office there was a good deal of head scratching by politicians, commentators and lobbyists alike about what this new, for Westminster, style of government would mean.
The PPP Operational Guidelines for mainland Tanzania dated October 2012 provide detailed information regarding the implementation of PPP projects, essentially the implementation tool of the Framework.
In March of last year, the courts held that a hospital trust's conduct to its contractor was so unreasonable that it was in breach of the express duty to act in good faith in their contract.
Deloitte collaborated with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the lead organization responsible for coordinating humanitarian emergency response, to strengthen humanitarian leadership.
Some comments from our readers… “The articles are extremely timely and highly applicable” “I often find critical information not available elsewhere” “As in-house counsel, Mondaq’s service is of great value”
