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2007 Assessment

Italy: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Italy: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Procurement
Indicators		Score
48	Is the public procurement process effective?	48
49	Can citizens access the public procurement process?	100

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is the public procurement process effective?

48a: In law, there are regulations addressing conflicts of interest for public procurement officials.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: There is no such law.

48b: In law, there is mandatory professional training for public procurement officials.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: There is no such law.

48c: In practice, the conflicts of interest regulations for public procurement officials are enforced.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: There is no regulation on conflict of interests.

48d: In law, there is a mechanism that monitors the assets, incomes and spending habits of public procurement officials.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: There is no such law.

48e: In law, major procurements require competitive bidding.

Score:

YES

Comments: Since April 2006, a new law on public procurements is in force. This law updated and rationalised the previous norms (sometimes quite old), by taking into consideration European laws on public procurement. Its practical effectiveness and the possible problems will take some time to display. The evaluation on the impact of this law is still ongoing.

References: Decree (Decreto legislativo) 163 of April 12, 2006: Code for Public Procurements

48f: In law, strict formal requirements limit the extent of sole sourcing.

Score:

YES

Comments: The Code sets the rules for public procuremets, including sole sourcing.

References: Decree 163 of April 12, 2006: Code on Public Procurement

48g: In law, unsuccessful bidders can instigate an official review of procurement decisions.

Score:

YES

Comments: Unsuccesful bidders have the possibility to appeal before a court.

References: There is no such law.

48h: In law, unsuccessful bidders can challenge procurement decisions in a court of law.

Score:

YES

Comments: The possibility to appeal falls within the general right to appeal against acts of the public administration.

References: Art. 113 of the Constitution Art. 113: Against acts of the public administration the judicial safeguarding of rights and legitimate interests before the organs of ordinary or administrative justice is always permitted. Such judicial protection may not be excluded or limited in particular kinds of appeal or for particular categories of acts.

48i: In law, companies guilty of major violations of procurement regulations (i.e. bribery) are prohibited from participating in future procurement bids.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Decree (Decreto legislativo) 163 of April 12, 2006: Code for Public Procurements", art. 38, lett. c)

48j: In practice, companies guilty of major violations of procurement regulations (i.e. bribery) are prohibited from participating in future procurement bids.

Score:

100

Comments: According to the report, in 2006 1,261 guilty firms have been excluded by public procurements. A whitelist is available wia veb in the "Casellario delle imprese", a list of firms that have been authorised to contract with public administration. Many "tricks" exist to overcome the prohibition, such as secret agreements with other companies, change of admnistrators or creation of new companies, but both the authority for monitoring public procurements and the judiciary are quite active in investigating to discover such cases.

References: Report by Autorità per la vigilanza sui Contratti pubblici Rapporto 2006 [ LINK ] see also website: [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Media and journalists often report how companies overcome the prohibition with secret agreements or by using figureheads, but they are rarely prosecuted because this is all very difficult to prove. These cases are illustrated by media, documentaries and books, but the people involved are rarey prosecuted.

Can citizens access the public procurement process?

49a: In law, citizens can access public procurement regulations.

Score:

YES

Comments: All regulations are available to the public, also on line.

References: Decree (Decreto legislativo) 163 of April 12, 2006: Code for Public Procurements

49b: In law, the government is required to publicly announce the results of procurement decisions.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Decree (Decreto legislativo) 163 of April 12, 2006: Code for Public Procurements

49c: In practice, citizens can access public procurement regulations within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Report by Autorità per la vigilanza sui Contratti pubblici: Rapporto 2006 [ LINK ]

49d: In practice, citizens can access public procurement regulations at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: Information is free.

References: Report by Autorità per la vigilanza sui Contratti pubblici: Rapporto 2006 [ LINK ]

49e: In practice, major public procurements are effectively advertised.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: [ LINK ]

49f: In practice, citizens can access the results of major public procurement bids.

Score:

100

Comments: Public contracts over a certain size are published in national journals.

References: Report by Autorità per la vigilanza sui Contratti pubblici: Rapporto 2006 [ LINK ]

see also newspapers. for example :Il sole 24 re (paper version), Corriere della sera (paper version)