Legal Person under Public Law in Public Procurement Law 2026

Legal person under public law: bodies, institutions, and foundations under public law as contracting authorities in public procurement.

Definition: A legal person under public law is an organisation established under public law and endowed with its own legal personality (e.g. regional and local authorities, professional chambers, universities, public-law broadcasting institutions) that, by virtue of its legal form, always qualifies as a contracting authority within the meaning of public procurement law.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: Directive 2014/24/EU Art. 2(1)(1); BVergG 2018 § 3(1)(1); GWB § 99(1)

What is a Legal Person under Public Law?

Legal persons under public law are the classical contracting authorities of public procurement law; they are subject to procurement rules without any further functional examination. Public law creates these organisational forms in order to perform state tasks and to confer the necessary legal personality on them.

German and Austrian law distinguish three basic types:

Public-Law Corporations

Membership-based legal persons, including:

Regional and local authorities (federal government, federal states, municipalities, municipal associations)
Professional chambers (bar associations, medical chambers, chambers of crafts)
Social insurance bodies
Universities (under public-law sponsorship)

Public-Law Institutions

Permanent aggregations of personnel and resources established by statute or by-law that serve a public purpose, e.g.:

Public-law broadcasting institutions (ORF, ARD, ZDF)
Savings banks (in their original public-law form)
State lottery companies

Public-Law Foundations

Foundations established or recognised by the state pursuing a lasting public purpose.

Status as Contracting Authority

Legal persons under public law are always contracting authorities within the meaning of procurement law – regardless of the type of service to be procured or the funding source. This distinguishes them from legal persons under private law, where a functional examination (general interest, state influence) is needed to establish the status.

The duty to tender applies to all procurements above the statutory thresholds, regardless of whether the body acts in a sovereign or fiscal capacity.

Particularities in Procurement Practice

In practice, specific procurement-law questions arise for legal persons under public law.

Exceptions and Special Rules

Legal persons under public law can also benefit from exceptions in procurement law, in particular:

In-house awards: commissioning their own controlled bodies
Inter-municipal cooperation: collaboration with other contracting authorities
Special rules for social services: specific thresholds and procedures in the social field

Aggregation of Procurements

Where several units of a legal person under public law procure similar services, the contract values may have to be aggregated (artificial splitting of lots is prohibited).

Budget Constraints

Legal persons under public law are additionally subject to budgetary and state-aid law, which further constrains their procurement decisions.

Distinction from Private-Law Bodies

The distinction between legal persons under public and under private law turns on the act of establishment: where the body was established by public law (statute, by-law), it is a legal person under public law; where it was founded by private-law act (articles of association, association statutes under private law), it is a legal person under private law.

In procurement law this distinction is not decisive in all cases, since legal persons under private law can also be contracting authorities where they satisfy the functional criteria.

Related Terms

FAQ

Are all municipalities legal persons under public law? Yes. Municipalities are regional and local authorities and therefore legal persons under public law. They are always subject to procurement rules.

Does the tender obligation also apply to municipal own-enterprises without their own legal personality? Municipal own-enterprises without separate legal personality are legally non-independent parts of the municipality; their procurements are attributed to the municipality and are subject to procurement law.

Can legal persons under public law be exempted from the tender obligation? A complete exemption is not possible. Individual services can, however, be exempt from procurement law by virtue of statutory exceptions (in-house, inter-municipal cooperation, security and defence).

Last updated: January 2026 All information provided without guarantee. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in public procurement law.