Preventing and Fighting Corruption on Public Procurement in Portugal:

Abstract

This article analyses the legal regimes implemented in Portugal for the prevention and combating of corruption in public procurement. Although it is not a new theme, it has received new updates in the law dedicated to the regulation of public procurement – ie, the Public Procurement Code; some of the novelties arising from the imposition of European Union Law on public procurement – while others result from the recent national strategy for the prevention and combating of corruptive phenomena. The implementation of the referred strategy – which covers several areas of action – also benefits matters of public procurement. This has resulted in a set of normative solutions that have strengthened the prevention of corruption, both from an organisational perspective (with the creation of a new public agency for the prevention of corruption) and from an activity perspective (by imposing corruption risk prevention plans, codes of conduct, training programmes and reporting channels, including on contracting authorities). These solutions, particularly the one related to whistleblowing channels, have been reinforced by the recent ‘European Whistleblowing Directive’, which led to the approval of a new national whistleblower protection scheme with immediate relevance in public procurement. Keywords: public procurement; corruption; rule of law; conflict of interests