What does GWB mean?
The Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen (GWB, German Act against Restraints of Competition), often also called the cartel act, is Germany's central competition law. For public procurement, the fourth part of the GWB (Sections 97 to 184) is particularly important, as it governs the award of public contracts and concessions above the EU thresholds. This part forms the foundation of German procurement law and transposes the European procurement directives into national law.
The fourth part of the GWB is divided into several chapters: The first chapter (Sections 97 to 114) contains the principles of procurement law, including the principle of competition, the transparency requirement, the principle of equal treatment and the obligation to use public funds economically and efficiently. The second chapter (Sections 115 to 140) governs the procurement procedures in detail, including the procedure types, suitability checks, award criteria and information obligations. The third chapter (Sections 155 to 184) sets out review proceedings before the public procurement tribunals (Vergabekammern) and procurement senates (Vergabesenate) as special legal protection for bidders.
The GWB defines the central terms of procurement law, including the different types of contracting authority (public contracting authorities, sector contracting entities, concession grantors), the contract types and the thresholds. It provides that the detailed design of procurement procedures is set out in ordinances (VgV, SektVO, KonzVgV) issued on the basis of powers granted in the GWB.
Relevance for bidders
For bidders, the GWB is the most important legal source in procurement law, because it defines their basic rights and the available legal protection. The right to compliance with procurement rules under Section 97(6) GWB gives every company with an interest in the contract the right to assert breaches of procurement rules. This individual legal right is the basis for review proceedings before the public procurement tribunal.
Bidders should know the key provisions of the GWB, especially the principles of procurement law, the requirements for the suitability check, the award criteria and the information obligations. Knowing the legal protection system (public procurement tribunal, procurement senate) and the related deadlines is essential to be able to respond in time in a dispute.
Legal framework
The GWB is specified in more detail by several ordinances: the Vergabeverordnung (VgV, Public Procurement Ordinance) for supply and service contracts above the EU thresholds, the Sektorenverordnung (SektVO, Sector Ordinance) for contracts in the utilities sector, the Konzessionsvergabeverordnung (KonzVgV, Concession Award Ordinance) for concessions and the Vergabestatistikverordnung (VergStatVO, Procurement Statistics Ordinance). Below the thresholds, the UVgO (Sub-Threshold Procurement Rules) and VOB/A Section 1 apply, which are based not on the GWB but on budget law.