Measures Taken to Conclude and Implement Administrative Contracts Affected by COVID-19 Pandemic (French Legislation as a Model)

Abstract

Upon the adoption of the Law No. 2020-290 of March 23, 2020 on Health Emergency System related to COVID-19, France has taken several regulatory measures. Among the adopted measures is the Ordinance No. 2020-319 of March 25, 2020 which created rules for awarding, concluding or executing contracts regulated by the public procurement code and public contracts that do not fall under the public procurement code during the health crisis resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. The reasoning behind implementing these measures was to avoid potential conflicts by re-adapting the rules of administrative contracts law to confront the impact of the pandemic, to ensure the stability of contractual relations and to support the national economy. This study concludes that the scope of the application of these measures is broad and prejudices the principle of legal security. On the other hand, the rabid adoption of these measures resulted in an inconsistent formulation with the law regulating the public request, as well as with the theories related to restoring the financial balance of the administrative contract that has been established by the French administrative judiciary.