The European Union and Romanian Jurisprudential Perspective on the Public Procurement Contract – Category of the Administrative Contract

A decision-making relevance for retaining the incidence of the special legislation applicable in the matter of public procurement presents the qualification of the contract as a public procurement contract, subsequent to the analysis of the legal features of the contract, but also of the qualities of the contracting parties. The legal features that particularise the public procurement contract represent autonomous notions, defined by EU law, with the exception of the element relating to the administrative character, not provided for by Directive 2014/24/EU, but mentioned by Romanian law. Also, the qualification of the public procurement contract is an autonomous qualification, in accordance with the provisions of EU law on public procurement, and the qualification of the contract in national law is not relevant from this perspective. Equally, the concepts of contracting authority and economic operators, tenderer are defined not only at the legislative level, but have been the subject of a rich ECJ jurisprudence, which must be taken into account and applied as such by the national judge. In terms of guaranteeing the most efficient use of public money, avoiding the non-application of special provisions in the field of public procurement, as well as consolidating theoretical knowledge in the matter, it is useful to approach the previously mentioned autonomous notions in the light of European and Romanian jurisprudence and doctrine.