The Possibility to Exclude an Economic Operator that Cannot Be Trusted

Abstract

This article seeks to answer the question whether it is possible to exclude an economic operator that the contracting authority does not trust and if so, on which grounds. In light of recent case law from the CJEU, the article explores and analyses the requirements for using the voluntary exclusion grounds dealing with the reliability of economic operators in the Public Procurement Directive Article 57(4) letter c (grave professional misconduct) and let-ter g (significant or persistent deficiencies in the performance of a contract). The article al-so elaborates on the possibility of using the rules on self-cleaning in relation to the two exclusion grounds.