Provisions relating to bribery in the field of contracts and
public procurement are not new. For example, the Public
Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) (the
Regulations) and its English counterpart have long
included a mandatory requirement for Contracting Authorities to
exclude economic operators (whether that be contactors, service
providers or suppliers) from tendering for a public contract where
the authority has actual knowledge that the operator (or any of its
directors or any other person with powers of representation,
decision or control) has been convicted of specific criminal
offences.
Regulation 23(1) (c) of the Regulations includes the offence of
bribery or corruption within the meaning of sections 68 and 69 of
the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 (CJS
Act). The English Regulations refer to the general
criminal offence of bribery.
