La corruzione negli appalti pubblici

This essay focuses on a concrete evaluation of Italian public procurement legal rules to highlight the main risks of corruption they may entail. First, the institutional and legal framework is analyzed with regard to both national and international debates on corruption in public procurement. A close examination of a number of preventive solutions is also provided. Second, the main risks of corruption related to certain legal principles and norms of the Italian Code on public contracts (subcontracts, variances in public works, regularity of the qualification process and so on), considered by courts and by the National Authority for Public Procurement, are analyzed. Third, a short examination of certain practices and background elements of the national market for public contracts (secret public procurement contracts, urgent ordinances, outsourcing of services) which increase the risk of corruption in public procurement is given. Finally, the corruptive relationship between distortions of competitive bidding and the degree of inter-firm collusion is evaluated.