

The preventive role of the judiciary in protecting the financial interest of the European Union.
A comparative analysis for improved performance
8
The application of sanctions banning the participation to public procurement of different
economic operators: bidders, associated bidders, subcontractors, third parties supporting the
bidder to meet the procurement selection criteria.
The synergies between the criminal legal framework and specific administrative regulations in
the field of public procurement transposing Directive 2014/24/EU;
Compliance with the presumption of innocence in the treatment of bidders, when under
administrative or criminal investigation;
Available databases and sources of information for contracting authorities regarding the bidders,
their previous performance;
Implications of the timeframe of sanctions and bans;
Transnational implications.
2.3.
STAKEHOLDERS TARGETED BY THE RESEARCH PHASES
The stakeholders involved in the research phase included:
Judicial officials and experts: judges, prosecutors, lawyers, assessors, academics;
Representatives of anti-fraud entities and/or public bodies that regulate and/or monitor the
national public procurement system;
Representatives of legal persons subject to application of exclusion from public procurement as
an accessory sanction to the one for corruption, money laundering, fraud or related criminal
offences;
The number of interviews (online or face to face questionnaires) and focus-groups was not fixed as long
as the information was collected from the target groups and it was reliable. The researchers had the
responsibility to ensure that all groups have been covered by the research, although the groups have
been not evenly represented in the research phases.