Public Procurement Law
Public contracting authorities award projects in the billions every year. Strict and constantly changing legal framework conditions are behind this gigantic market. Additionally, when it comes to public procurement law, we are dealing with a dynamic legal field in Europe and particularly in Austria. New regulations or changes enter into force almost annually. For contracting authorities and contractors, this means that every decision in the award procedure must be well-founded not only legally, but also from a business and economic viewpoint.
The experienced team of experts at SAXINGER will reliably assist you through all phases of the award procedure – regardless of whether it involves construction contracts, supply and service contracts or licenses, competitions and PPP projects. We support contracting authorities and contractors alike. Thanks to years of experience and market insight, we not only have comprehensive knowledge of the current legal situation, we also recognise legal developments early on. We use these skills to develop forward-looking and tailor-made award strategies for our clients.
Our advice includes:
- Assistance with invitations to tender and proposals
- Support throughout the entire award process – from preparation to acceptance of a tender
- Reviews, contract processing and project support
- Dispute avoidance and conflict resolution
- Representation in courts and arbitration bodies – nationally and throughout Europe
It goes without saying that we represent our clients at public procurement review bodies, in supreme courts, European tribunals and civil courts. We also conduct such proceedings for you in other countries via the European locations of the Schindhelm Alliance.
Legal Advice in Public Procurement Law
Public procurement is bound by strict procedures regulated by law. In order to ensure that contracts are awarded fairly, transparently and make sense economically and that only competitive enterprises have a chance, public procurement law places high demands on all participants. National legislators, the European Union and case law continuously develop the legal framework.
Both public contracting authorities and enterprises must therefore regularly adjust to new developments to be able to carry out or participate in award procedures in a legally certain and successful manner. Specialised legal advice in the early stage is essential here. Even small errors can result in delays, review procedures or, in the worst case, the loss of funding.
For public contracting authorities, advice on public procurement law is recommended, in particular...
- When planning and structuring invitation to tenders in order to draw up the procedure strategically, in good time and with legal certainty.
- For structuring the award documents to avoid formal errors.
- For preventing conflict in order to coordinate legal requirements and economic goals in a consistent way.
- For support throughout the entire award procedure to ensure legal certainty and transparency, also in relation to control bodies and supervisory authorities.
For tenderers and/or enterprises, advice on public procurement law is recommended, in particular...
- When creating proposals in order to fully and correctly meet formal and material requirements.
- For strategic positioning in the procedure in order to develop a legally certain proposal strategy and to increase the chances of having the tender accepted.
- In the event of a short-term requirement for clarification or conflicts in order to be able to respond to ambiguities or incorrect decisions in a quick and legally certain way.
- To protect your own rights, particularly with irregularities in the procedure. For instance, by a formal request for review or representation with respect to public procurement authorities and public procurement chambers.
Our Expertise in Public Procurement Law
Public procurement law is complex – SAXINGER has many years of experience and proven expertise. We develop tailor-made strategies, we are always up-to-date and we recognise early on where the framework conditions are heading. We support both contracting authorities and enterprises as tenderers.
In complex procurement procedures, we work in interdisciplinary teams. Therefore, we can offer civil law, construction law, procurement law and procedural law from a single source—in a seamless, flexible and efficient way that is precisely tailored to your needs. Our range of consulting services:
Our advice on public procurement law covers all phases of the award process and is aimed at public contracting authorities as well as tenderers.
- Preparation and design of tenders: Requirements in terms of form, content and economic efficiency must be considered before publishing an invitation to tender. We support you in clearly defining award objectives, making optimum use of leeway in public procurement law and avoiding sources of error that could lead to review procedures later on.
- Structuring and optimising procurement procedures: The selection for the award procedure must be commensurate with the type and scope of the project. Proper selection ensures an efficient and legally certain procedure which excludes subsequent challenges as far as possible.
- Creation and review of tender documents: Tender documents form the backbone of the entire procedure. We help with clear wording, requirements that comply with public procurement law and unambiguous information in order to prevent legal disputes or tenders from being excluded.
- Handling of award procedures via the tender platform, also as the awarding authority: We provide comprehensive advice to clients on the use of and electronic processing via tender platforms.
- Formulation of tenderer questions for the preparation of the proposal: Invitations to tender are often not completely clear. For example, they contain imprecise requirements, contradictory information or leave out important details. Tenderers can formulate questions in order to avoid risks, be able to better assess competition, recognise leeway in negotiations or protect themselves against subsequent objections. Legally certain and astutely formulated questions can enhance the position of the tenderer's proposal.
- Support with processing and evaluating tenders: The following applies to tenderers: Correct preparation of proposals will preclude formal errors, lack of evidence or impermissible content that can lead to exclusion. In turn, contracting authorities should assess proposals with legal certainty in order to avoid subsequent objections. Legal consultation is helpful for both parties.
- Award management and award monitoring: Larger projects, in particular, require comprehensive award management from scheduling to logging. We help you to comply with content requirements and to document all decisions.
- Support with contract processing and project assistance: Even after the tender is accepted and the contract is concluded, there are legal requirements that require legal advice. This may be, for example, contract addenda, deadline extensions or contract breaches.
If there are disputes in the award procedure, we represent the contracting authority and the tenderer in review and appeal proceedings, both nationally and internationally.
- Review proceedings, especially with regard to invitations to tender and award decisions: A formal request for review can delay or stop the entire award procedure. We represent contracting authorities in the defence against unjustified objections, as well as tenderers whose rights were violated by procedural arrangements contrary to public procurement law.
- Representation before public procurement monitoring authorities domestically and abroad: Through our various locations in the EU, we represent your rights not only before national public procurement chambers, but also before governmental authorities abroad.
- Appeal proceedings before supreme courts and European tribunals: Complex cases of fundamental significance often lead to the Administrative or Constitutional Court or the European Court of Justice and require appropriate representation at the highest level.
- Representation in civil court proceedings: We represent your interests both out of court and at all levels of civil court instance and, at our law firm, we work closely with experts in construction law, contract law and corporate law.
References & Success Stories
We will stand by your side with extensive public procurement expertise and commitment. Below are some of our most recent successful clients and references.
SAXINGER assists with contract for Stadler Rail in the billions
SAXINGER provided legal support to German-Austrian project consortium for the award of Stadler Rail's largest contract in company history. The Swiss train manufacturer will receive a contract, valued at up to 4 billion euros, for the delivery and maintenance of up to 504 trains and trams. Together with Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek, our law firm provided comprehensive legal coverage for the invitation to tender and the contract design.
Juve highlights SAXINGER’s consulting role in public procurement law
The Juve-Verlag, publishing house for legal information, (Issue 01/2025) named SAXINGER as a law firm in Upper Austria without which market leadership would be difficult to imagine. The strong position in public procurement law is emphasised in particular. No other law firm in the region advises the federal state of Upper Austria so comprehensively on public procurement law matters. In addition to that, SAXINGER regularly assists Energie AG OÖ as an important client in this field.
SAXINGER singled out in Trend magazine’s lawyer rankings for public procurement law
SAXINGER partner Dr Hanno Liebmann has been singled out as one of the leading lawyers in public procurement law in the current rankings of Trend magazine, Austria’s most highly circulated business magazine. He is one of the top lawyers in this specialist field and he enjoys a special level of trust from his clients.
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Award procedures place high demands on all parties involved – economically, technically and legally. It is all the more important to always stay up-to-date and be well connected because additional questions from adjacent legal areas are often incorporated into the procedure and can significantly influence the course it takes.
Our team of experts at SAXINGER comprehensively assists contracting authorities and contractors from all sectors through every stage of the award procedure. Thanks to our international partner law firms, we can also reliably assist you with international award procedures and review proceedings.
