Procurement Review Authority 2026 – Oversight in Procurement Law

Procurement review authority: State bodies that supervise compliance with procurement law. Procurement chambers, audit offices and supervisory authorities.

Definition: Procurement review authorities are state, or state-appointed, bodies that supervise compliance with procurement rules by public contracting authorities, review procurement procedures on application or ex officio, and may intervene in the event of infringements.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal status: §§ 155 et seq. GWB, Directive 89/665/EEC, BVergG 2018

What are procurement review authorities?

Procurement review authorities ensure compliance with procurement law and provide unsuccessful bidders with effective legal protection. European procurement law requires the Member States to set up effective and rapid review procedures (Remedies Directive 89/665/EEC). A multi-tier system of review bodies has developed in Germany and Austria.

Public procurement chambers

The public procurement chambers are the central first-instance review bodies in German procurement law and decide on applications for review by unsuccessful or bypassed bidders. They are set up at the federal cartel authority (Bundeskartellamt) and the cartel authorities of the Länder. The federal public procurement chambers are competent for procurements of the highest federal authorities and certain utilities contracting authorities; the Länder procurement chambers are competent for all other public contracting authorities.

Public procurement chambers generally decide within five weeks of receipt of the application.

Procurement senate

An immediate appeal against decisions of the public procurement chambers may be lodged with the competent procurement senate at the Higher Regional Court (OLG). The procurement senate is the second instance in the procurement-law system of legal protection. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) is competent for further appeals on points of law, but only where the appeal has been admitted.

Supervisory authorities

In addition to the procurement chambers, general supervisory authorities – in Germany, in particular the audit offices and state legal supervisory authorities – also exercise control over the procurement activity of public contracting authorities. However, this control is preventive or ex post and is not aimed at primary legal protection for individual bidders.

Austria: Federal Procurement Office and administrative courts

In Austria, the Federal Procurement Office and the Länder procurement offices or administrative courts take over the function of procurement review authorities. The BVergG 2018 provides for a comprehensive system of legal protection, covering both review procedures and declaratory procedures.

Related terms

FAQ

What is the difference between the public procurement chamber and the procurement senate? The procurement chamber is the first instance; it decides on applications for review. The procurement senate at the OLG is the appeal instance against decisions of the procurement chamber.

Can third parties (not bidders) also lodge a complaint with a procurement review authority? In principle, only bidders and candidates who have an interest in the contract and have suffered or risk suffering damage as a result of the procurement-law infringement have the right to apply.

Do procurement review authorities also have ex officio powers? Yes. In certain cases – in particular in the case of serious de facto awards – review authorities may act without an application. In practice, however, application-based proceedings predominate.

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