Liability of contractors jointly applying for a public procurement contract in connection with their conclusion of a civil law partnership agreement

Abstract

A civil law partnership agreement is an obligation relationship through which the partners of a civil law partnership pursue a common economic goal. In the case of public procurement contracts, the common goal is to submit a joint tender and then jointly perform the contract. The legislator enabled contractors pursuant to Article 23 of PPL (the Public Procurement Law) to jointly apply for a public procurement contract. The subject of the article is the liability of contractors jointly applying for a public procurement contract in connection with their conclusion of a civil law partnership agreement. The first goal is to discuss the situation of partners who, seeking to perform a public procurement contract, establish a civil law partnership. The second goal is to identify contractual clauses that, to some extent at least, would restore the balance of partners’ positions towards each other and towards the contracting authority.