Chapter 09. Review by Committees on Contracts

9.1 Mandate of Committee on Contracts

Pursuant to the provisions of Financial Rule 105.13 (b), Review Committees on contracts are established at Headquarters (HQ) and other locations to render written advice on proposed procurement actions. In accordance with Financial Rule 105.13 (c), where the advice of a Review Committee is required, no final action leading to the award or amendment of a procurement contract may be taken before such advice is received. The terms of reference and the rules for the composition, work, and authority of review committees on contracts are set forth in the applicable administrative issuance.

The primary responsibility of the Review Committees is to ensure that proposed procurement actions are based, inter alia, on compliance with the Financial Rules and Regulations, relevant Secretary-General’s Bulletins and Administrative Instructions taking into consideration the guidance provided by the Procurement Manual. The Review Committees are not responsible for reviewing or providing advice on the adequacy or necessity of the requirement being met under the proposed procurement action, but may ask questions and make observations, on the adequacy or necessity of the requirements of the proposed procurement action.

9.2 Thresholds for the Headquarters Committee on Contracts (HCC)

Irrespective of whether the procurement action originated at HQ or in another UN Secretariat entity, in accordance with the Financial Regulations and Rules, the recommendation of the HCC and the approval of the relevant Authorized Official shall be obtained prior to any contractual commitment being made for cases exceeding certain thresholds, which are set forth in the annex to the delegation instrument titled “Delegation of Procurement Authority Matrix”.

9.3 Thresholds for Local Committees on Contracts

In accordance with the Financial Regulations and Rules, the recommendation of the LCC and the approval of the relevant Authorized Official shall be obtained prior to any contractual commitment being made for cases exceeding certain thresholds, which are set forth in the annex to the delegation instrument titled “Delegation of Procurement Authority Matrix”.

9.4 Submission to Review Committees on Contracts

For all procurement actions that require review by a Review Committee, the Director, PD, or the Chiefs of Service in PD, or the CPOs, or their duly designated representative, in consultation with the relevant Requisitioners, shall submit cases through an electronic submission system to the respective Review

Committee by the established deadline. Such deadline shall be established by each Review Committee and communicated to the Director PD, or the CPOs as appropriate.

The Chairperson of a Review Committee may, at his/her sole discretion and in accordance with guidelines established by the Review Committee, accept the late submission of presentations (i.e., after the established time for submission of cases for regularly scheduled meetings) for procurement actions arising out of an emergency, exigent situations, or unforeseen operational urgency. Such Submissions are usually referred to as “Walk-In” cases. The terms of reference and responsibilities set forth in this chapter regarding normally submitted cases apply equally to “Walk-In” submissions. Justification shall be provided in writing to the Chairperson of the Review Committee from the relevant requisitioner in consultation with the Director PD or the CPO. A complete submission in accordance with standard requirements shall be presented to the Review Committee for any “Walk-In” cases.

Procurement Officials shall ensure that submissions to a Review Committee are comprehensive, factually accurate, and clear to facilitate the review of the procurement action. Procurement Officials shall also ensure that the recommended vendor is registered at the required level before submission of the case to a Review Committee. Submissions shall be in sufficient detail to enable the Review Committee to obtain an accurate and complete description of the procurement actions taken and the basis for the proposed award.

The Director, PD, or the CPOs and the requisitioning office shall ensure that relevant procurement and requisitioning staff are present at the Review Committee’s meetings to answer questions and provide clarifications when required.

In case of urgent procurement actions, the requisitioning office may request the Chairperson of the Review Committee that the minutes of the Review Committee recommendations be issued on an expedited basis. This request may be accepted or rejected at the sole discretion of the Chairperson of the Review Committee.

In cases of split awards, the entire procurement process and all awards, including those that individually do not exceed the threshold that requires submission to a Review Committee (LCC or HCC), shall be referred only to one Review Committee (either LCC or HCC) based on the recommended award with the highest NTE amount. Following the recommendation rendered by the Review Committee, the Authorized Official approves all award(s) deriving from the same procurement process, including those that fall below the threshold for Review Committees.

Field Missions, OAHs, Regional Commissions or Tribunals, or other UN Secretariat entities may be given LPA to undertake the procurement of Strategic Goods and Services. Procurement actions for Strategic Goods and Services with a value in excess of US$ 1,000,000 shall be reviewed by the HCC and the Authorized Official shall send the case to the Director, PD for PD’s review before the case is forwarded to the HCC’s attention. The Director, PD or his/her duly designated representative, may request the CPO to provide clarifications and will submit the presentation to the HCC with PD’s comments. The CPO, the Requisitioner or their duly designated representative in the field, and the Procurement Official from Headquarters shall jointly present such cases to the HCC.

After the HCC’s review of such cases, the recommendations of the HCC will be submitted for the consideration of the Head of Entity of the requisitioning office.

9.5 Facilitation of the Review by the HCC/LCC

Procurement Officials are responsible for the following:

1. 1. 1. Ensuring, in cooperation with the requisitioner, accurate, timely, and comprehensive presentations to the Review Committee, including a written justification for the proposed award(s) and a brief description of the purpose of the goods or services to be acquired. Presentations to Review Committees shall include, at a minimum, the documents set forth in Annex 13 (PD SOP No. 001 Quality Assurance Programme for HCC Presentations implemented at UN/PD) as appropriate. The Review Committees may also request additional documents, as they may deem appropriate;
      2. Providing to the Review Committees, upon request and in a timely manner, clarifications and/or additional information in connection with a case presentation in consultation with the Requisitioner as appropriate;
      3. Ensuring that the procurement action is undertaken in accordance with the Financial Rules and Regulations, established procurement practices and procedures, applicable SGBs, and AIs.

9.6 Ex Post Facto Presentations to Review Committees

A submission to the Review Committee may be ex post facto in the following two cases, namely, (a) fully “ex post facto” cases and (b) partially “ex post facto” cases, defined as follows:

1. 1. 1. Fully Ex Post Facto Case: A procurement action, whether a written contractual instrument exists or not, in which the UN entered into a commitment for the provision of goods and/or services in full prior to submission of the procurement action to the relevant Review Committee(s) for its recommendation to the Authorized Official;
      2. Partially Ex Post Facto Case: A procurement action, whether a written contractual instrument exists or not, in which the UN entered into a commitment for the provision of goods or services in part prior to submission of the procurement action to the relevant Review Committee(s) for its recommendation to the Authorized Official.

Although ex post facto cases are not specifically addressed in the Financial Rules and Regulations, they may be accepted by the Organization under exceptional circumstances, provided all other UN procurement practices and procedures have been followed. However, ex post facto cases should be rare exceptions, and when they occur, written justification shall be provided in the case presentation to explain the reasons why timely submission of the case was not possible. Such justification should identify the reasons for the ex post facto situation and propose how to address the root cause in order to avoid reoccurrence.

Procedures for Ex Post Facto Cases Submitted to the HCC: