On 29 March 2013, the Council of Ministers decided that the new regulatory framework for public procurement will enter into force on 1 July 2013. This is the date that had already been put forward by the Public Procurement Commission (Commissie voor de overheidsopdrachten/Commission des marches publics) in January 2013 (See, VBB on Belgian Business Law, Volume 2013, No. 2, p. 15, available at www.vbb.com).
The regulatory framework that will enter into force on 1 July 2013 comprises the following texts:
the provisions of the Law of 15 June 2006 on public procurement contracts and certain contracts for works, supplies and services (Wet overheidsopdrachten en bepaalde opdrachten voor werken, leveringen en diensten van 15 juni 2006/Loi du 15 juin 2006 relative aux marchés publics et à certains marchés de travaux, de fournitures et de services – the “Law of 15 June 2006”) which have not yet entered into force (See, VBB on Belgian Business Law, Volume 2011, No. 8, p. 9 and No. 9, p. 8, available at www.vbb.com);
the provisions of the Royal Decree of 15 July 2011 on the award of public procurement contracts in the classical sectors (Koninklijk Besluit van 15 juli 2011 plaatsing overheidsopdrachten klassieke sectoren/Arrêté royal du 15 juillet 2011 relatif à la passation des marchés publics dans les secteurs classiques) which have not yet entered into force (See, VBB on Belgian Business Law, Volume 2011, No. 8, p. 9, available at www.vbb.com);
the Royal Decree of 16 July 2012 on the award of public procurement contracts in the special sectors (Koninklijk Besluit van 16 juli 2012 plaatsing overheidsopdrachten speciale sectoren/Arrêté royal du 16 juillet 2012 relatif à la passation des marchés publics dans les secteurs spéciaux) (See, VBB on Belgian Business Law, Volume 2013, No. 2, p. 15, available at www.vbb.com);
the Royal Decree of 14 January 2013 establishing the general implementing measures of the public procurement contracts and the public works concessions (Koninklijk Besluit van 14 januari 2013 tot bepaling van de algemene uitvoeringsregels van de overheidsopdrachten en van de concessies voor openbare werken/Arrêté royal du 14 janvier 2013 établissant les règles générales d’exécution des marchés publics et des concessions de travaux publics) (See, VBB on Belgian Business Law, Volume 2013, No. 2, p. 15, available at www.vbb.com); and
a Royal Decree, which is still to be published in the Belgian Official Journal (Belgisch Staatsblad/Moniteur belge), on competitive procurement in the framework of the European Union of certain contracts for works, supplies and services in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors (Koninklijk Besluit betreffende de mededinging in het raam van de Europese Unie van bepaalde opdrachten voor werken, leveringen en diensten in de sectoren water, energie, vervoer en postdiensten/Arrêté royal relatif à la mise en concurrence dans le cadre de l'Union européenne de certains marchés de travaux, de fournitures et de services, dans les secteurs de l'eau, de l'énergie, des transports et des services postaux).
The draft Royal Decree which formalises the Council of Ministers’ decision will now be submitted to the Council of State for advice, after which it will be published in the Official Journal (Belgisch Staatsblad/Moniteur belge).
The new regulatory framework governing public procurement still has to be complemented with rules on legal protection, as currently contained in book IIbis of the Law of 24 December 1993 on public procurement contracts and certain contracts for works, supplies and services (Wet van 24 december 1993 betreffende de overheidsopdrachten en sommige opdrachten voor aanneming van werken, leveringen en diensten/Loi du 24 décembre 1993 relative aux marchés publics et à certains marchés de travaux, de fourniture et de services). In this regard, a bill was submitted in the Chamber of Representatives on 16 April 2013 “on the reasoning, the information and the legal remedies with respect to public procurement contracts and certain contracts for works, supplies and services” (Wetsvoorstel van 16 april 2013 betreffende de motivering, de informatie en de rechtsmiddelen inzake overheidsopdrachten en bepaalde opdrachten voor werken, leveringen en diensten/Proposition de loi du 16 avril 2013 relative à la motivation, à l'information et aux voies de recours en matière de marchés publics et de certains marchés de travaux, de fournitures et de services).
The new regulatory framework for public procurement, as based on the Law of 15 June 2006, will presumably be in place for only a short duration before being revised. Discussions are ongoing at the EU level to modernise the current EU public procurement rules (See, VBB on Belgian Business Law, Volume 2011, No. 12, p. 14, available at www.vbb.com).
