Postponing of the Transatlantic conference on effective contract administration and dispute resolution – keys to innovation and environmental sustainability in public procurement practice

Due to situation caused by the Covid virus, travel alerts, questions from participants and sponsors the organizers took the decision to postpone the Transatlantic conference on effective contract administration and dispute resolution – keys to innovation and environmental sustainability in public procurement practice, which was planned on 18 of March at the University of Warsaw.

This decision has been taken due to the protection of the participant’s comfort and health as well as due to the best understanding of sponsors and partners reputation.

The new term of this event is planned for September, 30, 2020 and will be announced soon.

Transatlantic conference on effective contract administration and dispute resolution – keys to innovation and environmental sustainability in public procurement practice

EVENT DETAILS

DATE: MARCH 18, 2020

TIME: 10:00 AM to 5.00 PM

LOCATION: University of Warsaw Collegium Iuridicum II, Room No.A.2 Faculty of Law and Administration

Please join a free public procurement conference bringing together leading judges, practitioners and professors from Europe and the United States, organized by the Association ,,Pro Silesia”, the George Washington University, the University of Warsaw, Silesian University in Katowice, and the Polish Public Procurement Law Association, sponsored by Tauron S.A. with the patronage of Fulbright Poland. Conferees will discuss the challenges of public contract administration and contract disputes in the EU’s Member States, sharing lessons learned from the U.S. federal procurement system. A special emphasis will be put on innovation and environmentally sustainable procurement – global issues that depend on effective contracting administration and dispute resolution. The conference will take place March, 18th at the Warsaw University. 

Public contract administration has long been overlooked in the EU, which has focused instead on contract formation as a means to European integration. That is rapidly changing and the EU’s Member States now recognize the importance of contract administration and effective disputes resolution. For over two centuries, the U.S. government has developed specialized laws and forums for addressing issues in public contract administration – potentially valuable lessons learned for European nations that want to advance innovation and enhance sustainability through effective public procurement.

AGENDA

9.00 - 10.00 Registration and welcome coffee

10.00 - 10.30 Opening remarks

• Prof. Wiesław Banyś, President of the "Pro Silesia" Association
• Prof. Anna Zawidzka, Head of European Law Chair, University of Warsaw, Law and Administration Faculty
• Prof. Tomasz Pietrzykowski, The Vice-president of the Silesian University
• Aldona Kowalczyk, Dentons, President of the Public Procurement Law Association

10.30 - 12.30 Keynote speakers

• Prof. Alexandra Harrington, McGill University, Canada | Magdalena Stryja, Silesian University, Polish Bar Council - Intersections between Global Governance Regimes and Climate Change Law.
• Judge Jeri Somers, Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, Washington DC - The role of contract disputes in support of sound procurement from the U.S. perspective.
• Katarzyna Kuzma, DZP, Public Procurement Law Association - Contract administration in the new Polish Public Procurement Act. Legal measures in the law to advance green and innovative procurement.
• Prof. Christopher Yukins, George Washington University - The hard cases in environmentally sustainable procurement - the U.S.experience.

12.30 -1.00 Coffee break

1.00 - 2.00 Panel I: The role of innovative and environmentally sustainable procurement in the context of the future global challenges (4th Industrial Revolution, 5G, Smart Cities, eco-innovation)

Moderator: Prof. Michał Kania, Silesian University, Public Procurement Law Association Discussion by the editors of “Joint public procurement and innovation”, prof. Gabriella Racca (Univeristy of Turin) & prof. Christopher Yukins (George Washington University), and “Cost and EU Public Procurement Law Life-Cycle Costing for Sustainability”, prof. Marta Andhov (University of Copenhagen) & prof. Roberto Caranta (University of Turin)

2.00 - 2.45 Lunch

2.45 - 3.45 Panel II: Improving public procurement, including innovation and environmental sustainability, through contract administration

Moderator: Prof. Piotr Bogdanowicz, University of Warsaw, Clifford Chance, Public Procurement Law Association

Panelists:

• Paul M. Lalonde, Dentons, Canada
• Anna Specht - Schampera, SDZ Legal, Public Procurement Law Association
• Wojciech Hartung, PhD, DZP, Public Procurement Law Association
• Tomasz Zalewski, Bird & Bird, Public Procurement Law Association

3.45 - 4.00 Coffee break

4.00 - 5.00 Panel III: An effective contract dispute resolution system (including ADR methods) in advancing innovative and environmentally sustainable procurement

Moderator: Prof. Tunde Tatrai, Corvinus University of Budapest

Panelists:

• Mariusz Haładyj, President of the General Counsel to the Republic of Poland
• John Pachter, Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC, Tysons Corner VA, USA
• Judge Jeri Somers, Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, Washington DC
• Paweł Nowicki, PhD, University of Torun, Prof. Wierzbowski & Partners, Public Procurement Council

Closing remarks

REGISTRATION: aleksandra.kuraszkiewicz@dzp.pl Please confirm your participation by 11 March 2020. The number of places is limited. The meeting will be held in Polish. Simultaneous interpretation into English will be provided.

World Bank's Fifth International Debarment Colloquium, Thursday, April 23, 2020

EVENT DETAILS

DATE: April 23, 2020

TIME: 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM

LOCATION: The World Bank, 1818 H St. NW, Washington D.C. 20433 ROOM: Preston Auditorium

CONTACT: Caroline Wachtell cwachtell@worldbank.org

Please join representatives from multilateral organizations, government, private sector, non-governmental organizations and academia for a day of roundtable panel discussions and networking

King’s College, London – George Washington University Law School Annual Transatlantic Symposium on Public Procurement Law

EVENT DETAILS

DATE: March 16, 2020

TIME: 10:00 AM to 8. 00 PM

LOCATION: King’s College, London UK

Until now, procurement reform internationally has centered on contract formation, because of the difficult political, legal and economic issues that surround the award of any public contract. For the most part, contract administration and its inevitable disputes (and fraud) have been ignored. This symposium seeks to remedy that, by bringing together judges, lawyers, academics and experts from both sides of the Atlantic, to share lessons learned and ways forward for a sound approach to contract administration.

More on Professor's Christopher Yukins Blog: 

www.publicprocurementinternational.com

AGENDA

Introductions (10-10:15)

Michael Bowsher QC, King’s College, London & Monckton Chambers

Panel I (10:15-11:30) How Poor Procurement Affects Failed Contract Performance

Professor Christopher Yukins, George Washington University (moderator)

• Paul Lalonde, Dentons, Toronto
• Jane Jenkins, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, London
• Francois Lichere, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3
• Benedetta Audia, UNOPS

Panel II (11:30-12:30) The Limited Impact of EU Public Procurement Law on Contract Administration

Michael Bowsher, King’s College, London & Monckton Chambers (moderator)

• Roland Stein, BLOMSTEIN, Berlin Professor
• Gabriella Racca, University of Turin
• Irena Georgieva, PPG Lawyers, Sofia
• Caroline Nicholas, UNCITRAL (invited)

Lunch (12:30-13:30)

Panel III (13:30-14:30) U.S. Experience: Linking Contract Award to Performance Through Standardized Clauses and Dispute Resolution — and Fraud

Steven Schooner, George Washington University Law School (moderator)

• Hon. Jeri Kaylene Somers, Chair, U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, Washington DC
• John Pachter, Smith Pachter, McLean VA
• Craig Holman, Arnold & Porter, Washington DC
• Marcia Madsen, Mayer Brown, Washington DC

Panel IV (14:30-15:30) Improving Contract Performance Through Better Procurement: Diverse National Experiences

Professor David Mosey, Center for Construction Law & Management, King’s College, London

• Vera Eiró, Linklaters, Lisbon
• Paul Khoury, Wiley Rein, Washington D.C.
• Kate Gough, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, London
• Marta Andhov, Assistant Professor, University of Copenhagen

Tea (15:30-16:00)

Panel V (16:00-17:00) Judges & Arbitrators Panel: European Approach to Resolution of Disputes in Public Contracts

Helena Rosén Andersson, Supreme Administrative Court, Sweden Sir Vivian Ramsey, Judge, Singapore International Commercial Court Judge Katja Hoegh, Chair, Østre Landsret (High Court of Eastern Denmark), Copenhagen Mrs. Justice O’Farrell DBE, Technology & Construction Court, London (invited)

Drinks (17:00-18:00)

Book talk: procurement across borders (18:00-20:00) For those able to stay on, co-editors Gabriella Racca and Christopher Yukins and several of their co-authors will host an evening of light refreshments and discussion of their recently published book, Joint Public Procurement and Innovation: Lessons Across Borders. The book, with leading authors from both sides of the Atlantic, addresses a range of cutting-edge issues in public procurement, including: Joint purchasing across borders — US and EU models Innovative procurement techniques emerging in Europe and internationally Special challenges in procuring for “smart cities” OECD’s role in the revised “MAPS” standards for assessing public procurement systems Electronic marketplaces for public procurement. Professor Chris Jansen (VU Amsterdam) and co-author Professor Patricia Valcárcel Fernández (University of Vigo) (invited) will discuss their ongoing study of contract administration law — another important project assessing procurement law across borders.

With generous support from: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Arnold&Porter and University of Turin