ABA Committees To Hold Joint Meeting on Developments in International Debarment – February 13, 2020 – Call in

Jessica Tillipman, GWU Law School – Co-chair, ABA SIL Anti-Corruption Committee

On February 13, 2020, at 12:00 noon ET, the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of International Law (SIL) Anti-Corruption Committee will join with the ABA Public Contract Law Section (PCLS) Suspension and Debarment Committee, for an informal lunchtime session on developments in international debarment. The session will be moderated by Assistant Dean Jessica Tillipman, George Washington University Law School, Washington DC.

Christopher Yukins, George Washington University Law School (who co-teaches courses on anti-corruption with Dean Tillipman), will discuss emerging international models for debarment, and the impact that new electronic marketplaces may have on debarment globally. With regard to the U.S. experience, he has drafted a book chapter with John Pachter and Jessica Tillipman, for a forthcoming book on compliance by Cambridge University Press. Professor Yukins has also co-written a piece with Professor Michal Kania (U. Silesia – Katowice), comparing debarment in the United States and the European Union.

Chris Yukins-International Models-Materials Download

Pascal Friton, a partner in the BLOMSTEIN firm, Berlin, will discuss how the European Union’s member states are addressing exclusion and debarment, drawing on a piece he presented at the Thomson Reuters Government Contracts Year in Review in February 2019. He also will be speaking on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at this year’s Year in Review conference.

Collin Swan, of the World Bank’s Office of Suspension & Debarment, will discuss his office’s debarment survey and the office’s ongoing research into other debarment systems (beyond the United States and the World Bank). See his FCPA Blog post on the survey.

World Bank – Suspension & Debarment Survey – Pilot Results (2019) Download

Additional resources

Grace Sullivan, a third-year student at the George Washington University Law School, recently won first prize in the Public Contract Law Journal annual writing contest for her note (which was also accepted for publication in the Journal). Her note analyzes three case studies of foreign contractors debarred by the U.S. government: Chinese telecommunications giants ZTE and Huawei, and Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. Ms. Sullivan will be presenting on her note at the March 2020 ABA PCLS Federal Procurement Institute in Annapolis, MD.

Dial-in Information:

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US Dial-in Number (local toll): (515) 606-5440

Access Code: 509353

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International local-toll dial-in numbers: https://www.freeconferencecall.com/wall/sil_anticorruption/

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“Modern Ghana” Posting on the World Bank’s New Procurement Framework — Now Effective

New World Bank Procurement Framework Promotes Strengthened National Procurement Systems

By World Bank

Flexible approach will help countries make the best use of public spending

The World Bank’s new Procurement Framework becomes effective tomorrow, July 1, 2016. Aimed at helping countries make the best use of their public spending, the new Framework will enhance the strategic role of procurement in development effectiveness.

“The new Procurement Framework reflects the views, knowledge, and expertise of a wide range of stakeholders from across the globe. The Bank can now offer a more modern and nimble procurement system to help promote sustainable development,” said Hart Schafer, World Bank Vice President for Operations Policy and Country Services .

The new Procurement Framework will allow the World Bank to better respond to the needs of client countries, while preserving robust procurement standards throughout Bank-supported projects. It provides an expanded range of procurement tools to enable a better fit for varying country contexts and client needs.

“With this modernization of the procurement system, the Bank looks forward to working together with its partner countries to strengthen efficiency in public spending and to strengthen procurement systems around the world. This will help assure that public resources are being well used, and countries can better deliver critical services such as education, health, and infrastructure” says Deborah Wetzel, Senior Director of the Governance Global Practice .

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors initially approved this new policy framework in July 2015. It governs procurement in Bank-financed projects in 172 countries worth about USD 56 billion. This new Framework is a result of an extensive review and three-year consultation process involving over 5,000 people in 100 countries including partner countries, CSOs, and private sector.

“Reflecting the latest thinking in procurement, including greater use of technology, the new Framework emphasizes greater choice and flexibility, quality, and accountability while enabling greater adaptation to country contexts,” said Robert Hunja, Director, Governance Global Practice .

The new Framework enables the Bank to work more closely with country partners in improving their own procurement systems. Furthermore, under this framework, clients can use the procurement arrangements of other multilateral development partners or of national agencies in some circumstances.

The new Framework will introduce an ICT based tracking and monitoring tool Systematic Tracking of Exchanges in Procurement (STEP) to make procurement processes speedier, while promoting transparency and accountability. The Bank will also step up its approach to resolving procurement related complaints.

http://www.modernghana.com/news/703203/new-world-bank-procurement-framework-promotes-strengthened-n.html?

Public Procurement Law Review Publishes Reviews of Multilateral Development Banks’ Procurement Reforms

The Public Procurement Law Review, led by Professor Sue Arrowsmith at the University of Nottingham, has published a very interesting set of essays on procurement developments at the MDBs. For U.S. lawyers, these are available on Westlaw.

1. All change at the World Bank? The new procurement framework

Public Procurement Law Review 2016 P.P.L.R. 2016, 4, 121-150 Peter Trepte

2. An update on procurement reforms at the African Development Bank

Public Procurement Law Review 2016 P.P.L.R. 2016, 4, 151-163 Vinay Sharma

3. The Inter-American Development Bank: reform to build up and increase the use of national procurement systems in Latin America and the Caribbean

Public Procurement Law Review 2016 P.P.L.R. 2016, 4, 164-171 Adriana Salazar

4. The procurement policies and rules and the procurement activities of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Public Procurement Law Review 2016 P.P.L.R. 2016, 4, 172-178 Jan Jackholt