Blacklisting in Public Procurement

Query

Which countries have already introduced blacklists of conspirators? What were the results of introduction of the conspirators blacklists?

PURPOSE

We are starting an advocacy campaign aimed at introducing a legal provision for the creation of the Unified State Register of sole proprietors and legal entities who abuse the tender legislation demands. People also call it “the conspirator register” or “the blacklist of unfair bidders

CONTENT

1. Blacklisting as an anti-corruption tool
2. Examples of blacklisting mechanisms
3. References

SUMMARY

Blacklisting, or debarment, typically refers to the procedure that excludes companies and individuals involved in wrongdoings from participating in tendering projects. A blacklisting register is often consolidated in one place, and can either be made available to the wider public or only to contracting authorities. In order to have an efficient and fair system in place, blacklisting should be based on clear rules and on the principles of fairness and accountability, transparency, good judicial practice, and uniformity.

Many countries and international organisations, such as multilateral development banks, have introduced blacklisting systems due to corruption, but few have established a public and central register or database of all companies and individuals that have been debarred. However, public blacklists are available in some countries, including Bangladesh, Brazil, Pakistan and Uganda. In the United States, state and government agencies usually have an online register of for all blacklisted companies, but a public database is still lacking at the federal level. Despite the use of blacklists, there is very limited evidence of the impact of such lists in reducing corruption.

Authors

Maíra Martini, Transparency International, [email protected]

Reviewers

Marie Chêne, Transparency International; Robin Hodess, PhD, Transparency International

Date

28/02/2013

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