CMN911 | Contract Management and Negotiations

Increasingly, public services are provided through private agencies. Public authorities enter into a range of contracts for this purpose. For a public administrator or a private person engaging with the state, managing contracts is not just a ‘legal’ or ‘compliance’ exercise. Public authorities need to make decisions regarding when such contracts should be entered into, how such contracts should be designed, how awards are made, and other procurement rules, by evaluating policy objectives and Constitutional principles. The subject matter of the course is divided over four modules. The first module will introduce principles of contract law and the manner in which contracts are regulated by the State. The subsequent modules will cover concepts in relation to the formation, performance, and breach of government contracts, public private partnerships, and evolution in procurement policies to achieve policy outcomes. The last module will revisit the issue of public versus private law in the context of judicial review of government contracts.