MSLV4800 The State and Municipalities as Market Actors – Public Procurement, State Aid, and Corporate Organization Course description

The topic of the course is the regulatory framework intended to ensure that public enterprises and public funds are managed in the most efficient way as possible. It primarily deals with the rules on public procurement, which are rules aimed at ensuring the best possible use of resources when entering into public contracts. Another way of rationalising public enterprises is to define them as separate entities. The legal characteristics of such forms of organisation and its consequences will also be covered. The course also deals with some of the rules that place special limitations on the public sector as a market participant (The EEA Agreements government assistance rules).

Language of instruction is Norwegian.

None

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student has

• knowledge about different forms of organisation and market contracting in the public sector
• understand the goals of public procurement
• in-depth knowledge about the regulation of public procurement in Norway regarding planning, advertising tenders, how to conduct this process and the conclusion of the process and knowledge on the potential consequences of errors
• insight into what the prohibition against public funding entails and legal problems regarding Public sector entering the market in the sense of the EEA Regulations
• knowledge of the international anchoring the regulations on the public procurement and public support have

Skills

The student is capable of

• identifying and analysing legal issues and consequences relating to restructuring or market contracting processes
• identifying when different parts of the regulations on public procurement apply
• analysing and handling legal issues when advertising tenders, and how to conduct this process, assess the tenders received and award contracts

General competence

The student is capable of

• working independently on practical and legal issues

The teaching methods used are individual study, group work and plenary sessions. An important element of achieving the learning outcomes for this course will be the use of various case studies. Students are expected to be active in the work on these cases and work with the sources of law available in this field. Literature studies will be an important aspect of this work.

No coursework requirements or compulsory activities.

The exam in the course is an individual home exam over a period of 6 hours.

All aids are permitted, as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with.

Grade scale A-F

The exam papers are assessed by one internal and one external examiner.

At least 25% of the exam papers will be assessed by two examiners. The grades awarded for the papers assessed by two examiners form the basis for determining the level for all the exam papers.