The Madrid Bar Association devotes its 1st public procurement congress to appeals and the future European regulation

The Illustrious Madrid Bar Association holds its 1st Congress on Public Procurement on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October 2026. According to the event page, it will take place in the Assembly Hall of the Bar Association, Calle Serrano 9, Madrid, in person. It is organised by the Bar Association's sections and is linked to its Administrative Law Section.

Who it is for

The ICAM page lists as its audience:

• Lawyers who work in public procurement.
• Legal departments of companies that contract with the public sector.
• Legal services of public administrations.

The event is listed in the category of activities for bar members.

The programme

Thursday 29: appeals, case law and procurement bans

The first day focuses on the practice of public procurement:

1. The effectiveness of the special appeal in procurement matters and its reform prospects.
2. The 2025 and 2026 doctrine of the contract appeal bodies, with issues such as standing, access to the file, award criteria, solvency, joint ventures and contract modifications.
3. Arbitration and mediation in public contracts and concessions.
4. Recent case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Supreme Court.
5. Procurement bans and self-cleaning measures.

Friday 30: the proposed European regulation

The second day is devoted to the proposed Regulation on public contracts and concessions:

1. The legal principles of the proposal, its scope and the prospects for approval.
2. Possible changes in scope, procedures and award criteria.
3. The "European preference" and its effect on non-EU companies in Spanish tenders.
4. Concessions and public-private partnership: operating risk, duration, modifications and economic balance.
5. A closing reflection on the position of the legal profession on the future regulation.

Practical details

• Dates: 29 and 30 October 2026.
• Place: Assembly Hall of the Bar Association, Calle Serrano 9, Madrid.
• Format: in person.
• Registration: through the registration link on the event page, which points to the ICAM's courses area.
• Price and timetable: the event page did not state them at the date of consultation. The detailed programme is linked on the page itself.

Why it matters

Public procurement is a practice where large firms, specialist firms and lawyers working inside companies or administrations meet. A congress combining recent doctrine of the appeal bodies with debate on a future European rule lets you update daily practice and anticipate changes.

The second day also has a strategic element for those advising companies that bid in Spain: the European proposal raises questions of scope, procedure and preference that may change how bids are prepared.

How to make the most of it

1. Review the programme beforehand and mark the sessions that affect your open files.
2. Note the decisions cited and check them afterwards in the official databases before using them in a filing. It is a necessary precaution, as the sanctions for fake case law generated by AI show.
3. Arrange cover for the firm for the two days.

For those working in the legal department of a company that contracts with the public sector, another November date is the Aranzadi In-House Counsel Congress. And for firms practising together, Law 2/2007 requires doing so through a professional company, as we explain in the guide to the professional law firm company.

More dates in the Events agenda.