Rules of recusal

If participants in a procurement project discover that they have a conflict of interest, they are obliged to inform their supervisor immediately.

A conflict of interest, and thus a partiality, exists if a person participating on the side of ETH Zurich

• has a personal interest in the assignment
• has special connections with the tenderer or a member of one of its executive bodies; These include, for example, current or paste close (personal) business relationships (e.g. customer relationship, strategic partnership, form of participation, employment/ contract relationship, outside activity), spin-​off relationship, marriage, registered partnership or consensual union, kinship or affinity, an economically dependent relationship or another type of dependent relationship or several years of close comradeship (e.g. due to military service).
• lacks the independence required for the performance of public procurements due to other circumstances, insofar as this partiality has a concrete effect on the procurement process.

To recuse oneself means not to participate in the procurement procedure, neither in the specification of requirements, nor in the evaluation of the offers, nor in the award decision. The responsible superior budget officer or the head of the department (if the person concerned has departmental budget responsibility) ensures that in the event of a reported partiality in connection with a procurement project, the person concerned recuses him-​ or herself and this is documented. Furthermore, he ensures that requirements specification, offer evaluation and award decision are carried out by an independent panel of experts, that the procurement process requirements according to Art. 130 Financial Regulations of the ETH Zurich (hereinafter "FR") are complied with and that the Purchasing Coordination is informed. In cases of doubt, the Vice President for Finance and Controlling decides on the recusal in terms of Art. 130 para. 3bis FR.

Participants in ETH procurement procedures must also be aware of the following additional duties of care and loyalty and possible consequences in case of non-​compliance:

• When evaluating offers received as part of a procurement procedure, the person involved exclusively represents the interests of ETH. In a procurement procedure, all information, documents and results are confidential before, during and after the procurement procedure. This means that data should not be made available in any way whatsoever to unauthorized third parties and should not be removed from the designated premises.
• In addition, contact with potential tenderers concerning the procurement in question that could jeopardize equal treatment of the tenderers is prohibited.
• All gifts, invitations or minor and socially customary advantages before and during the procurement procedure from potential or effective tenderers must be rejected.

Failure to comply with the above points may constitute a breach of the duty of care and loyalty under personnel law and may result in sanctions under personnel law.

The following measures are intended to sensitize all participants in procurement procedures to the issue of conflict-​prone vested interests in procurement:

• For procurement projects of CHF 150,000 or more (excl. Real Estate Management process), the responsible procurement office requires the budget officer and the other contributors (internal and external) to sign a project-​related declaration of impartiality. Different project-​related impartiality declaration forms are used for internal and external contributors.
• Employees involved in procurements (excl. budget officers) of the procurement offices within the meaning of Art. 127 FR and of the shops within the meaning of Art. 130a FR sign a declaration of impartiality for the duration of their employment. The procurement office/shop is responsible for requesting the declarations of impartiality. Associated with this is the task of regularly checking whether other employees need to sign a declaration of impartiality.
  
• The budget officers confirm at the end of each year (in the ETHIS annual financial statement process) that they have understood the rules of recusal in procurement procedures and implement them in their area of responsibility.
  
  
• When recording outside activities, it is pointed out in the corresponding ETHIS workflow and, if applicable, in the Executive Board notification (approval) that in the case of planned procurements where the company/company group at which the outside activity is exercised comes into question as a tenderer, the person with the outside activity must recuse him-​ or herself.
  
  

The basis for the rules and processes listed here are the legal provisions listed below and the following articles of the Financial Regulations:

• Article 22(e);
• Article 24(9)(c);
  
• Article 28(1)(i);
• Article 29(1)(h);
• Article 130(3bis)

Art. 11 PPA - Procedural principles

When awarding public contracts, the contracting authority shall observe the following procedural principles:
b. It shall take measures against conflicts of interest, unlawful agreements affecting competition and against corruption.

Art. 13 PPA - Recusal

Persons may not participate in the procurement procedure on the part of the contracting authority or a panel of experts if they:

a. have a personal interest in a contract;
b. are connected to a tenderer or a member of one of its governing bodies by marriage or registered partnership, or cohabit de facto with this party;
c. are related to a tenderer or a member of one of its governing bodies by blood or by marriage in a direct line or collaterally to the third degree;
d. are representatives of a tenderer or worked for a tenderer on the same matter; or
e. lack the independence necessary to carry out public procurements for other reasons.

Art. 3 PPO - Measures against conflicts of interest and corruption

1 The employees of a contracting authority, as well as third parties commissioned by the contracting authority who are involved in an procurement procedure, shall be obliged to:

a. disclose any outside activity and contractual relationships as well as vested interests that could lead to a conflict of interest in the procurement procedure;
b. sign a declaration of impartiality.

Art. 53a ETH-​PO - Safeguarding the interests of the Confederation, the ETH Board, the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the research institutes

1. The employees perform their duties independently of personal interests and avoid conflicts between their private interests and those of the Federal Government, the ETH Board, the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the research institutes.
   
   
2. The competent body referred to in Article 2 shall ensure that employees who are married to each other, living in a partnership, closely related, or related by marriage are employed in such a way that they do not work directly together or are in a direct subordinate relationship. Anyone in such a relationship must report this to their superior.

Art. 56b paras. 1 and 2 ETH-​PO - Acceptance of gifts and other benefits

1. Employees may not accept gifts from third parties in connection with their professional activities, either for themselves or for their dependents, or accept other benefits that exceed minor, socially customary gestures or could lead to a certain dependency. Gifts in kind whose market value does not exceed CHF 200 are deemed to be minor benefits.
2. In cases of doubt, the superior authority shall decide.
    

Art. 57 ETH-PO - Professional, business, and official secrecy

1. Employees are obliged to maintain secrecy about professional and business matters which by their nature or according to special regulations must be kept secret.
2. The obligation to maintain confidentiality shall continue to apply even after termination of the employment relationship.
3. Staff members may not, at hearings or in legal proceedings, speak as a party, witness or expert about observations made in the course of their duties or in the exercise of their functions which relate to their official duties, unless they have been authorized to do so by the competent authority.

Art. 56 ETH-​PO - Outside activity of employees

1. Employees shall declare to their superior all public offices and remunerated activities which they perform outside their employment relationship, in particular external teaching commitments, consultancy activities, directorships, and other services.
2. Unpaid activities must be reported if conflicts of interest cannot be ruled out or if they could damage the reputation of the ETH Board, the two Federal Institutes of Technology or the research institutes.
3. The exercise of the functions and activities referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be subject to authorization if:
   a. they place a strain on an employee to an extent that may reduce his or her performance in the employment relationship with the ETH Board, the two Federal Institutes of Technology or the Research Institutes, if the total time demand due to the main and outside activity exceeds a full workload by more than 10 percent;
   b. due to the nature of the activity, there is a risk of conflict with the interests arising from the employment relationship or with the interests of the ETH Board, the two Federal Institutes of Technology or the Research Institutes;
   c. the infrastructure of the workplace is to be claimed.
   
   
4. If conflicts of interest cannot be ruled out in an individual case, the authorization shall be subject to appropriate requirements or conditions or shall be refused. Conflicts of interest may exist in the following activities:
   a. Advising or representing third parties in matters that are part of the duties within the scope of the employment relationship;
   b. activities in connection with contracts that are carried out for the ETH Board, the two Federal Institutes of Technology or the Research Institutes or that are to be awarded by the latter in the foreseeable future.
   
   
5. The notification or the application for authorization must be submitted to the superior authority in good time before the start of the activity. The two documents provide information about:
   a. The nature and duration of the outside activity;
   b. The expected time burden;
   c. the nature and extent of the use made of the infrastructure;
   d. possible conflicts of interest.

Art. 56a1 ETH-​PO - Outside activity of the other members of the Executive Boards

1. For the other members of the Executive Boards, Article 7a of the ETH Domain Ordinance of 19 November 2003 applies to the exercise of outside activity.
2. Upon request, the ETH Board shall decide on the total or partial waiver of the transfer of income from outside activity in accordance with Article 11 Paragraph 5 of the Executive Salary Ordinance of 19 December 2003.