Antidiskrimineringsklausuler i offentlig upphandling - En analys av hur Sverige har utnyttjat möjligheten att motverka diskriminering inom ramen för offentlig upphandling
(2013) JURM02 20131Department of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- I Sverige uppskattas den offentliga upphandlingen omsätta omkring 500 miljoner kronor per år. Dessa stora ekonomiska värden ger det offentliga makt att påverka privata aktörer och gör att upphandling kan bli ett viktigt politiskt styrmedel. I vilken utsträckning socialpolitiska målsättningar ska kunna främjas genom offentlig upphandling har dock varit föremål för diskussion. I den här uppsatsen har jag valt att undersöka vilka möjligheter stat och kommun har att motverka diskriminering inom ramen för offentlig upphandling och hur dessa möjligheter har utnyttjats i Sverige. Specifikt har jag belyst antidiskrimineringsklausuler. Genom att studera hur antidiskrimineringsklausuler används i Malmö stad respektive Stockholms stad, tillsammans... (More)
- I Sverige uppskattas den offentliga upphandlingen omsätta omkring 500 miljoner kronor per år. Dessa stora ekonomiska värden ger det offentliga makt att påverka privata aktörer och gör att upphandling kan bli ett viktigt politiskt styrmedel. I vilken utsträckning socialpolitiska målsättningar ska kunna främjas genom offentlig upphandling har dock varit föremål för diskussion. I den här uppsatsen har jag valt att undersöka vilka möjligheter stat och kommun har att motverka diskriminering inom ramen för offentlig upphandling och hur dessa möjligheter har utnyttjats i Sverige. Specifikt har jag belyst antidiskrimineringsklausuler. Genom att studera hur antidiskrimineringsklausuler används i Malmö stad respektive Stockholms stad, tillsammans med en utvärdering av den statliga antidiskriminerings- förordningen, har jag undersökt klausulernas verkan och effektivitet.
Utrymmet för att beakta antidiskrimineringshänsyn, vilket är en form av socialt hänsynstagande, styrs av EU:s upphandlingsdirektiv. Direktiven, som antogs 2004, ska garantera att anbudsgivare från alla medlemsländer har samma möjligheter att delta i upphandlingen och förhindra att irrelevanta faktorer beaktas i urvalsprocessen, som snedvrider konkurrensen. Antidiskrimineringshänsyn kan aktualiseras på olika sätt i upphandlings- förfarandets faser. Hur långt möjligheten sträcker sig är i vissa lägen oklart. Förutom vid själva utformandet av kontraktet, är möjligheterna störst i förfarandets slutfas, genom särskilda villkor för kontraktets fullgörande.
Det oklara rättsläget inom EU, i kombination med en restriktiv tolkning från ansvariga myndigheter, har lett till ett försiktig agerande från svensk sida i fråga om socialt hänsynstagande. Utrymmet som EU-rätten lämnar skulle kunna utnyttjas i större utsträckning. Det är främst genom antidiskrimineringsklausuler som antidiskrimineringshänsyn aktualiseras i Sverige. Genom klausulerna åläggs leverantörer att rätta sig efter gällande diskrimineringslagstiftning. Då dessa klausuler primärt har ett förebyggande syfte är det svårt att bedöma deras egentliga effekt. Undersökningen i denna uppsats tyder dock på att klausulerna, så som de används idag, på det stora hela är relativt verkningslösa. På grund av framför allt bristande uppföljning, men till viss del också på grund av klausulernas utformning och begränsade räckvidd, utnyttjas inte deras potential. Bland tjänstemän som hanterar upphandlingsfrågor tycks det dessutom saknas kunskap om att klausulerna även ställer krav på aktiva åtgärder.
Trots att Sverige i större utsträckning skulle kunna utnyttja utrymmet för att beakta antidiskrimineringshänsyn, bör i första hand de initiativ som redan tagits, prioriteras och effektiviseras. Antidiskrimineringsklausuler skulle kunna vara ett mycket bra sätt att driva antidiskrimineringsarbetet framåt och sätta tryck på den privata sektorn. För att göra klausulerna mer verkningsfulla, krävs framför allt ett fungerande system för kontinuerlig uppföljning. (Less) - Abstract
- In Sweden, public procurement annually accounts for approximately SEK 500 million. With these large economic values, the public has the power to influence private actors. In this way, procurement can be an important policy tool. To what extent public procurement can be used to promote social objectives has been subject to discussion. In this essay, I have chosen to investigate the scope provided for the state and municipalities to combat discrimination through public procurement and analyze how Sweden has used the possibilities to integrate anti-discrimination considerations into the process. I have specifically focused on anti-discrimination clauses. By studying an evaluation of the Swedish Anti-discrimination Regulation, coupled with my... (More)
- In Sweden, public procurement annually accounts for approximately SEK 500 million. With these large economic values, the public has the power to influence private actors. In this way, procurement can be an important policy tool. To what extent public procurement can be used to promote social objectives has been subject to discussion. In this essay, I have chosen to investigate the scope provided for the state and municipalities to combat discrimination through public procurement and analyze how Sweden has used the possibilities to integrate anti-discrimination considerations into the process. I have specifically focused on anti-discrimination clauses. By studying an evaluation of the Swedish Anti-discrimination Regulation, coupled with my own investigation of how anti-discrimination clauses are used in the municipalities of Malmö and Stockholm, I have examined the consequences and effectiveness of the clauses.
The EU public procurement directives, adopted in 2004, govern the scope for taking account of social considerations and thus the scope of anti- discrimination requirements. The directives prevent irrelevant factors in the selection process that distort competition and ensure that the tenderers from all Member States enjoy equal opportunity to participate in the tender procedure. Anti-discrimination considerations can be taken into account in various ways throughout the phases of the procurement procedure. The scope is in some situations unclear. The most viable way is by setting up special conditions for the performance of the contract.
The lack of legal clarity, combined with a restrictive interpretation from the Swedish authorities, has led to a conservative approach towards social considerations in Sweden. The possibilities provided by the EU law could be used to a greater extent. It is mainly through anti-discrimination clauses that public procurement is used for anti-discrimination purposes in Sweden. The clauses require suppliers to comply with the anti-discrimination legislation. Since these clauses are primarily preventive, it is difficult to assess their true impact. The investigation of this paper indicates that the clauses, in the way they are used today, are rather ineffective. Particularly because of the poor follow-up, but to some extent also because of the design and limited scope of the clauses, they are not used to their potential. Furthermore, the officials dealing with procurement issues seem to lack knowledge of the requirements on active measures, which are also imposed by the clauses.
Although Sweden could integrate anti-discrimination considerations to a greater extent into public procurement, the initiatives already taken should be prioritized. Anti-discrimination clauses could be a good way to promote equal treatment and put pressure on the private sector. Above all, the clauses require a system of continuous monitoring in order to be effective. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/3801569
- author
- Axelsson, Julia LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Anti-discrimination clauses in public procurement - an analysis of how Sweden has used the scope provided to combat discrimination through public procurement
- course
- JURM02 20131
- year
- 2013
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- EU-rätt, Offentlig upphandling, Diskrimineringsrätt
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 3801569
- date added to LUP
- 2013-06-05 18:50:16
- date last changed
- 2013-06-05 18:50:16
@misc{3801569,
abstract = {{In Sweden, public procurement annually accounts for approximately SEK 500 million. With these large economic values, the public has the power to influence private actors. In this way, procurement can be an important policy tool. To what extent public procurement can be used to promote social objectives has been subject to discussion. In this essay, I have chosen to investigate the scope provided for the state and municipalities to combat discrimination through public procurement and analyze how Sweden has used the possibilities to integrate anti-discrimination considerations into the process. I have specifically focused on anti-discrimination clauses. By studying an evaluation of the Swedish Anti-discrimination Regulation, coupled with my own investigation of how anti-discrimination clauses are used in the municipalities of Malmö and Stockholm, I have examined the consequences and effectiveness of the clauses.
The EU public procurement directives, adopted in 2004, govern the scope for taking account of social considerations and thus the scope of anti- discrimination requirements. The directives prevent irrelevant factors in the selection process that distort competition and ensure that the tenderers from all Member States enjoy equal opportunity to participate in the tender procedure. Anti-discrimination considerations can be taken into account in various ways throughout the phases of the procurement procedure. The scope is in some situations unclear. The most viable way is by setting up special conditions for the performance of the contract.
The lack of legal clarity, combined with a restrictive interpretation from the Swedish authorities, has led to a conservative approach towards social considerations in Sweden. The possibilities provided by the EU law could be used to a greater extent. It is mainly through anti-discrimination clauses that public procurement is used for anti-discrimination purposes in Sweden. The clauses require suppliers to comply with the anti-discrimination legislation. Since these clauses are primarily preventive, it is difficult to assess their true impact. The investigation of this paper indicates that the clauses, in the way they are used today, are rather ineffective. Particularly because of the poor follow-up, but to some extent also because of the design and limited scope of the clauses, they are not used to their potential. Furthermore, the officials dealing with procurement issues seem to lack knowledge of the requirements on active measures, which are also imposed by the clauses.
Although Sweden could integrate anti-discrimination considerations to a greater extent into public procurement, the initiatives already taken should be prioritized. Anti-discrimination clauses could be a good way to promote equal treatment and put pressure on the private sector. Above all, the clauses require a system of continuous monitoring in order to be effective.}},
author = {{Axelsson, Julia}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Antidiskrimineringsklausuler i offentlig upphandling - En analys av hur Sverige har utnyttjat möjligheten att motverka diskriminering inom ramen för offentlig upphandling}},
year = {{2013}},
}