Public Procurement and the paradigmatic case of Direct Contracting – Some Curiosities

Abstract

Public procurement as we know it today is not without criticism, but somehow it is adjusting – we hope – to the needs of the Portuguese society. Its discipline is provided for in the Public Contracts Code (and extravagant legislation) and it is here that we find the focus of our study, direct awarding. Direct award is one of the competitive procedures designed, essentially, to meet pressing needs of the public interest and whose value is not, usually, capable of being covered by another competitive form. Despite its emergence in legal doc-trine and jurisprudence, it was boldly considered by us that a critical and practical approach could be beneficial for professionals working in this area, as well as for the academic world. To this end, we will look at the historical framework of direct contracting, its current wording will be explained, and the criteria underlying its choice will be verified, namely the value criterion and the material criterion. Finally, the simplified direct contracting and its characteristics will be analyzed, as well as the value of direct contracting foregone between 2018 and 2022, taken from the Base Portal to better reflect this reality.