Relationship between common contract law, in particular sales and services, and public procurement law

A public procurement contract is a contract for pecuniary interest concluded between one or more economic operators and one or more (public) procurers relating to the execution of works, the supply of products or the provision of services, as defined in public procurement laws and regulations. The link with common contract law, and in particular sales and services, is at first sight not far-fetched. The numerous public procurement contracts published, awarded and executed on a daily basis cover a wide range of applications in everyday life. Some are visible, such as public construction projects (government buildings, highways etc.) or waste collection, others less so, such as the purchase of photocopiers by the government. Notwithstanding the frequent application and the seemingly clear link with common contract law, parties and courts will rather - and often exclusively - resort to the specific public procurement laws and regulations for the resolution of a dispute in the context of public procurement. But what if no solution is provided or if common contract law provides for a different solution? Can common contract law be invoked as lex generalis? But also the question of a possible influence of public procurement law (with a European law background) on common contract law arises. The aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between common contract law and public procurement law (award and execution). Within common contract law the focus is on sales and services sensu stricto (construction law) and services sensu lato (other services).