This presentation by Cristina Volpin, OECD Competition Division was made during the discussion “Director Disqualification and Bidder Exclusion” held for competition authorities officials on 29 November 2022. More materials on the topic can be found at https://oe.cd/ddbe. This presentation was uploaded with the author’s consent.

1. Director
Disqualification and
Bidder Exclusion
OECD COMPETITION COMMITTEE
Paris, 29 November 2022
Cristina Antonella Volpin
Competition Expert, OECD

2. • Director disqualification
– Exclusion of an individual from managerial roles in any
company for a specific amount of time
– (usually) cartels, but also abuse of dominance and other
infringements (e.g. possible application in breaches of digital
regulations)
• Bidder exclusion
– Exclusion of a company from a public procurement
tender process or future tenders by one or more
contracting authorities for a specific amount of time
– Grave professional misconduct, bid rigging, collusion, other
competition infringements that question operator’s
credibility and integrity
Debarment Measures
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3. • Objectives: Deterrence + Public Interest
• Assessing:
– When they are appropriate (standalone or complementary)
– How they affect the individual, company or market
– What should be their scope and duration
• Balancing:
– Director disqualification – compliance with risk-taking
– Bidder exclusion – integrity of the tender process with
competitive market dynamics
Challenges of Applying
Debarment Measures
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4. For all debarment measures:
• Increase transparency and legitimacy
• Ensure coordination with leniency programmes and
other sanctions
• Use advocacy powers
For bidder exclusion:
• Favour self-cleaning and risk-management
mechanisms
• Adopt reward systems
• “Checklist” screen
• Consider use of director disqualification (e.g. small
economies or interlocking directorates)
Possible solutions
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5. THANK YOU
cristina.volpin@oecd.org
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Thank you