Public procurement in Russia: concept and content

Based on the analysis of foreign and national legal acts, scientific works and research of domestic and foreign scientists, the article substantiates the relevance of the concept “public procurement” and reveals its content. The outcome of the research on public procurement as a system of legal relations allows the author to verbalize its definition. Public procurement should be understood as a system of legal relations where one party is an authorized representative of public authority who purchases goods, works, and/or services at the expense of the relevant budget in order to realize public interest. The characteristic features of public procurement are highlighted, and the most significant functions of public procurement are substantiated, including social, regulatory, reproductive, innovative, stimulating, and cost optimization. The author offers classification of the main subjects of public procurement, involving authorized representatives of public authorities (entities authorized to regulate and control public procurement, to centralize and conduct joint bidding, as well as all customers), business entities (suppliers, contractors) and derivative entities (banks and credit organizations, electronic trading platforms, specialized organizations). It is emphasized that in order to increase the efficiency of budget spending and optimize the financial support of public procurement, a number of derivative entities may be abolished. The article sustains that legal relations in public procurement are subject to regulation by the norms of financial, administrative, and civil law. It notes that legal relations in public procurement regulated by the norms of civil law (contractual legal relations) arise exclusively after the relations regulated by the norms of public law. It outlines the legal characteristic of the revealed legal relations and justifies the necessity of considering the priority of the norms of public law.