Vacíos legales en la contratación para la adquisición de bienes y servicios para la defensa y la seguridad nacional

Abstract

Goods and services tender awards for defense and national security are a method of contractor selection, which have been historically regulated, allowing public entities to acquire goods and services without regulatory gaps. Said regulations have established unequivocally which goods and services need to be acquired through the selection methods provided by the Congress for that purpose, either directly or through an abbreviated tender process, regardless of the amount of the contract. In spite of this, the issuance of Decree 1082 of 2015 exposed the entities of the defense sector to a legal limbo, since we went from a regulated selection modality, to one in which the legal operator discretionally interprets what goods and services are intended for defense and national security. This implies that, under this concept, competitive bidding is not the general rule, and that abbreviated tender process, which should be the exception, is implemented without adequate reasons to establish the benefits that these goods and services provide to the defense and security of Colombia. Furthermore, this modality is used for contracting construction activities, going against the very purpose of the abbreviated tender process, which is the acquisition of goods and services.