Independence of the Office for Public Procurement

Abstract

Summary The regulation of public procurement fulfils an essential task for the proper functioning of states. Public procurement directly influences the efficient public spending within a state. No doubt that the process shall be supervised by an independent and qualified institution. However, is this the case? In order to answer the question, the article chooses the jurisdiction of the Slovak Republic and it explores whether the supervisory body, the Office for Public Procurement, is to be seen as independent. Due to the fact that the notion of independence is unclear, the article presents the understanding of this notion and the criteria encrypted therein, following which the notion is applied to the Office for Public Procurement and to its leadership in particular. Since it is established that there is room for improvement regarding independence of this institution, the article presents concrete proposals for improvement of independence of the Office for Public Procurement.