Public procurement law: how to work within the system, not fight against it

Public procurement has long ceased to be “about formalities” and has become a separate field of law with its own rules of the game and established practice of oversight bodies and courts. For contracting authorities, this means risks of State Audit Service (SAS) monitoring, complaints to the Antimonopoly Committee and liability for officials. For businesses, it is the risk of losing a tender due to a technical mistake, an improperly drafted document or an unfortunate wording in the bid.

Legislation in this area changes so often that working “from memory” or “the way we did it last year” is already dangerous. A single word in tender documentation or in the contract template can become grounds for a complaint, monitoring or for declaring a procurement procedure as conducted with violations. In this environment, both businesses and contracting authorities need not just a “general lawyer” but a team that lives and breathes procurement issues on a daily basis.

How we help with public procurement law

We deal with public procurement legislation not in theory but through the lens of real procedures, monitoring cases and disputes. We can:

• review the contracting authority’s documentation for compliance with the law, typical errors and monitoring risks
• help businesses adapt their tender bids to the requirements of a specific procedure while staying within the law
• provide a legal position on contentious tender requirements, discriminatory conditions and unlawful rejection of bids
• explain how legislative changes affect specific roles: contracting authority, bidder, subcontractor, supplier

In practice, we translate complex provisions of laws, by‑laws and oversight practice into clear rules: what is allowed, what is not and what authorities really penalise.

Who this service is for

Legal support in public procurement is needed for:

• contracting authorities that want to conduct procurements without later having to justify themselves before SAS, the Antimonopoly Committee or law‑enforcement bodies
• businesses that plan to work systematically with the public sector rather than “occasionally” applying for tenders
• foreign companies entering Ukrainian public procurement and needing the rules of the game explained “in the local language”

If you plan to work with budget funds, knowledge of public procurement law is no longer optional; it is part of your risk management.

Work formats

We offer several formats depending on your needs:

• one‑off consultations on specific questions (procurement conditions, legislative changes, risks of a particular decision)
• support for individual procurement procedures for contracting authorities or tender participation for businesses
• ongoing legal support for procurement (an outsourced “tender lawyer” for a company or public body)

In every case our focus is the same: to ensure that decisions you make within the public procurement system are legally sound and their consequences predictable.

If you need advice or support on public procurement law, we can provide it.

Author – Maksym Bahniuk, Head of Tax and Customs Law Practice at Law Firm “WINNER”.
Contact: info@uk-winner.com | +38 (096) 574 81 02