A public contract is one of the varieties of civil law relations. This concept is disclosed in Art. 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The meaning of the concept is reduced to the provision of services (performance of work, sale of goods) by a commercial organization to everyone who applies. We are talking about the services that the organization carries out by occupation.
That is, a public contract is a civil-law contract with the following characteristic features:
1. One of the subjects of such an agreement is necessarily a commercial organization. It can be a municipal or unitary state enterprise, production cooperative, society or partnership. The counterparty is an individual (legal entity) - a consumer of the services, goods or work results.
2. Not every commercial organization may be a possible subject of a public contract. It depends on the type and nature of its activities. There are types of entrepreneurial activities designed to provide services or sell goods to all, without exception, who apply. An approximate list of such types of activities is given in Article 426 of the Civil Code (paragraph. 1).
The main ones are retail, public transport, medical and hotel services, as well as communication and banking services (to attract funds to deposits).
3. A public contract relates to activities that are consistent with the nature of the main activities of this organization. For example, if a subject provides medical services (clinic), then this activity falls under the definition of a public contract. But if the same clinic buys or sells property or equipment for its needs, then this contract (sale) is not classified as public.
The public offer agreement imposes certain legal restrictions on its subjects.
1. Such a commercial organization is deprived of the right to choose a partner or refuse to conclude a contract. If it is possible to provide the consumer with the goods and services specified in the contract, the refusal to conclude the contract is considered unreasonable and carries all the relevant legal consequences.
2. The organization does not have the right to give preference to one consumer over another, with the exception of cases stipulated by law. The preferential category of consumers of certain services are WWII veterans, people with disabilities, and some others.
3. A public contract implies the same conditions for the provision of services (including prices for goods) for all consumers, except in cases of legal benefits for certain categories.
4. In the case of a public contract, disputes on its terms are resolved in court, regardless of the consent or disagreement of the parties. This public contract is fundamentally different from the usual civil law, disputes on which are submitted to the court only by mutual agreement of the parties.
If the evasion of the organization from the conclusion of such an agreement is considered unreasonable, the latter may be concluded forcibly. At the same time, the consumer may demand compensation for losses incurred due to the refusal to conclude an agreement.
In addition, in the interests of consumers, the conditions for the implementation of a public contract (model rules, norms, etc.) can be established both by the federal legislative body and by a government decree.
There are sample model contracts for different types of activities, on the basis of which the terms of a specific contract are developed. For example, a consumer service contract, the supply of building materials, a contract for a specific type of work. Such model rules take into account the different specifics of the types of activities and formulate a mechanism for protecting consumer rights from unfair performance by the service provider of the terms of the contract.