Imitating private business in public procurement: Swedish ’affärsmässigt’

Abstract

While implementing the EC Procurement Directives in Swedish legislation, there remains a reference to 'business-like' (affärsmässig) practice as an external system of norms. The problem is that the term a. might contradict non-economic considerations in the award of contracts. Municipal procurement is often managed by professionals with limited legal expertise, and diverging practices are found. In recent years, the term a. has spread to court practice in other fields and even to one act belonging to private law. The term a. appears as a chameleon, since when used in a context of private law, it conveys a sense of transparency and objectivity traditionally associated with the operation of the legal system rather than with private business practices.