Despite the fact that stricter regulations governing Czech public tenders — aimed at stamping out corrupt practices — came into force on April 1, the old rules will continue to influence “the game” for some time yet. What’s more, it appears the new regulations are not completely resistant to manipulation. Czech Position tracks what went on with public tenders just before the April 1 deadline.

Gordion Consulting, whose clients include most of the ministries, regional and municipal administrations, is among the leading administrators of public tenders. In an interview with Czech Position, the firm’s managing director, Pavel Robek, talks candidly about the controversial use of electronic lotteries in ‘narrowed-down tenders’ and the pros and cons of the amended Law on Public Procurement.

The American Chamber of Commerce has been lobbying Czech MPs to change the public procurement law to increase transparency and accountability; this month, it presented the new AmCham Wings Award to lawyer Daniel Weinhold and Skanska head Dan Ťok for their work on the Platform for Transparency in Public Procurement. AmCham head Weston Stacey tells Czech Position about the chamber’s work in this regard.

Has there been a large public tender in the Czech Republic in recent memory after which at least one failed or excluded bidder did not cry foul and launch a legal appeal? The Kč 200 million tender for a systems integrator on the National Digital Library (NDK) project is the latest in a long line heading towards litigation, which could delay its implementation and result in the loss of European Union funding.