Abstract

The tender committee is an auxiliary team appointed by the head of the contracting authority. The collegial and subsidiary nature of the committee affects the scope of its tasks. The committee is not a body of the contracting authority, which means it cannot represent the authority in external relations, nor can it be authorised to do so - powers of attorney can only be granted to its individual members. The main task of the tender committee is to evaluate offers and prepare proposals concerning the proceedings. The proposals are not binding on the contracting authority, though they cannot be ignored and the committee will have to correct any defects in a proposal. The statutory scope of the committee’s tasks may be extended, but this does not change the nature of the committee. Consequently, these tasks require collective action and do not interfere with the contracting authority’s prerogatives, including those regarding the representation of the contracting authority in external relations. De lege ferenda, the commission’s tasks in direct procurement proceedings should be clarified.