Since 2009 a peculiar remedy has been lurking in the Public Contracts Regulations. It is a remedy that is rarely litigated and therefore remains somewhat shrouded in mystery. It is the remedy of ‘ineffectiveness’, namely the ability of the court to put an end there and then to a publicly procured contract that has been awarded in certain circumstances in breach of the Regulations.
In a recent decision, the court has given a much clearer picture of what the appropriate level of civil penalty might be as Helen Prandy explains in her blog: “Effective, proportionate and dissuasive”: the cost of ineffectiveness.