ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note provides background reading on concessions contracts procurement prior to the introduction of the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, SI 2016/273, which came into force on 18 April 2016, implementing Directive 2014/23/EU and introducing a new regime for the procurement of works concessions and service concessions. This Practice Note states the law prior to 18 April 2016 and is not maintained. It is for background information only. For more information on the current regime, see Practice Note: Introduction to concession contracts procurement. What is a concession contract? A concession contract is an agreement between a contracting authority and suppliers (typically private companies) where suppliers are given the right to exploit works or services provided for their own commercial gain. Under concession contracts, suppliers either receive payment for those services solely through third party sources (usually users of the service they are providing, ie the general public) or partly through payment from the contracting authority along with income received from third parties.

A concession is a form of public private partnership (PPP). It is a long term contractual arrangement between a government (or other public sector body) and a private sector operator who has been awarded the concession. See Practice Note: Forms of Public Private Partnerships. For the purposes of this note, references to “public authority” include contracting authorities and utilities within the meaning of the applicable procurement legislation. Under a concession agreement, the government grants a private entity—the concessionaire—the exclusive right to build an asset and to operate and maintain it for the agreed term of the concession. A concession will sometimes just be for the operation and maintenance of an existing asset but is often for the building of a new asset (followed then by its operation and maintenance). Alternatively, it may involve both new and existing assets. The term of a concession will typically be 25–30 years. Concessions effectively transfer the (often considerable) burden of constructing, or improving and maintaining, infrastructure onto the private sector and, in doing so, help to relieve some of the pressure

a process similar to mediation in which the third party takes a more active role in putting forward terms of settlement or an opinion on the case. There is no international consistency over terms and mediation is increasingly being adopted as the generic term for third-party facilitation in commercial disputes

A person appointed by an organisation such as ACAS to help conciliate a dispute between the employer and employee and to facilitate a settlement agreement.

Files are to be reviewed as soon after the end of the matter as possible. This should be no more than [insert period of time]. 1 General Client/matter reference [Insert reference] Client/matter name [Insert name] Date of review [Insert date] Person conducting review [Insert name]

A conclusion of fact is a finding made by a judge, tribunal or jury about what actually happened, based on the evidence and inferences drawn from it. It distinguishes factual determinations (for example, whether a contract was signed, whether a statement was made, or whether a party was negligent) from conclusions of law, which apply legal rules to those facts.The expression is primarily a descriptive term used in judgments, pleadings and legal argument, rather than a defined statutory concept. Across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, the usage is broadly consistent: appellate courts generally treat conclusions of fact with deference and will only interfere where there is a material error, no evidence, or the conclusion is plainly wrong or irrational.In civil and criminal litigation, identifying which parts of a judgment are conclusions of fact is critical for framing grounds of appeal, assessing prospects of success, and advising clients. In written submissions, practitioners often distinguish between primary facts, inferences from those facts, and mixed questions of fact and law, all of which can affect the standard and intensity of appellate review.

The constitution of a binding contract between two parties by completion of exchange of letters most commonly issued by solicitors acting as agents for the parties

Conclusions are not covered by the TFEU. Conclusions are non-binding instruments which do not have any legal force but are merely persuasive. They simply allow the EU institutions to make their views known and to suggest a line of action without imposing any legal obligation on those to whom they are addressed.

The orders being sought by the pursuer, which may be set out in their summons (Court of Session), or by the defender in their defences (sheriff court and Court of Session).

Scottish property conveyancing is carried out through the issue of ‘missives’ and contracts are exchanged by ‘conclusion of missives’

The situation in UK competition law where the OFT and sector regulators have concurrent powers to enforce Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and the Chapter I and Chapter II prohibitions in the regulated sectors.

The principle of being an active member of more than one pension scheme at the same time.