The Award Decision in the Saudi Competition and Government Procurement Law, a Comparative Study

Abstract

The administrative contract is considered a means by which the administrative body uses it to manage the affairs of public facilities and cover what it needs for that purpose. One of the most important stages it goes through is the stage of opening and examining bids. The Saudi Government Competition and Procurement Law have established dedicated committees for those who open bids and examine bids for that purpose, and the role of the bid examination committee is to recommend awarding the contract to the bidder who wins the competition, and then the award decision is issued by the person with the authority. Here comes the problem regarding the award decision. Is it considered an acceptance on the part of management that matches the offer of the bidder, or is it merely an announcement and acknowledgment of the bidder’s entitlement to the contract and remains the contract is not concluded until it is written and signed by all parties. Here, this study came to address this aspect and clarify what is the position of the legal text on this, and what is the position of the Saudi administrative judiciary on it. It was organized into an introduction, a preface, four sections, and a conclusion that included the most important results, including The Saudi administrative judiciary considers the awarding decision to be an acceptance by the administration and completion of the contract, and that the awarding decision can be appealed by cancellation like the rest of the administration’s decisions. This study recommended that the text of the Competitions and Procurement Law be amended and the ambiguity and lack of clarity in this part be removed.