Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Code in the context of public procurement
14 April, 2025, Public Procurement Office (UVO)
Employees of the Public Procurement Office participated in a training session on criminal law, with a focus on the Office’s competencies. The training was led by Professor JUDr. Jozef Čentéš, DrSc., Head of the Department of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Criminalistics at the Faculty of Law, Comenius University.
The training was initiated by the President of the Office, JUDr. Peter Kubovič, with the aim of deepening expert knowledge at the highest professional level in terms of specific provisions of the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure that are relevant to the Office’s activities—particularly in the context of supporting law enforcement authorities.
In practise, the Office has received complaints from investigators related to older public procurement procedures. However, due to the expiration of statutory deadlines for imposing sanctions or the end of mandatory documentation retention periods, these cases often prove ineffective from a supervisory standpoint. In addition, they place an undue administrative burden on the public institutions involved.
The Office recognizes the need for more effective cooperation with law enforcement authorities and plans to establish clear rules and mechanisms for collaboration, based on insights gained from this training.
At the same time, the Public Procurement Office considers it appropriate to re-examine the legal definition of the criminal offence of public procurement manipulation. This area would benefit from legislative reform to better reflect practical application and to meet the needs of effective competition protection, which plays a central role in the public procurement process.
The President of the Office expressed his sincere thanks to Professor JUDr. Jozef Čentéš, DrSc., for his insightful and scholarly lecture. Professor Čentéš provided a clear presentation of the key legal concepts in criminal law and offered valuable perspectives on their application in the decision-making practices of criminal courts.