For the sixth time, an outstanding master's thesis from a legal subject area was honoured with the BZP Award as part of the Real Estate Investment & Valuation master's program at the TU Wien Academy. The initiative for the award goes back to the graduate Mag. Guido Zorn, MSc, who created the award together with the law firm Bischof + Zorn + Partner, opens an external URL in a new window - Die Wirtschaftskanzlei, opens an external URL in a new window.

At the graduation on 5th May 2025, the BZP Award went to Maximilian Pischulti, who dealt with a highly topical and practice-relevant subject in his Master's thesis "The role of subcontractors in public procurement law in the construction industry" under the supervision of Mag. Robert Ertl.

In today's business world, the partnership-based provision of services by several companies has long since become the norm for construction, supply and service contracts. In the construction industry in particular, the use of subcontractors is almost indispensable - projects often require a wide range of technical services that can hardly be provided by a single company alone.

Pischulti's work is dedicated to the legal categorisation of subcontractors, clearly distinguishes them from so-called auxiliary companies and examines the complex legal requirements that apply to their use in public procurement. Particular attention is paid to the regulations of the Federal Procurement Act (BVergG), according to which subcontractors must be named in the tender, the complete subcontracting of contracts is not permitted and strict suitability criteria must be met.

By incorporating relevant literature, commentaries, the government bill and current case law, the work offers a well-founded analysis of the legal framework and risks of subcontracting - and thus makes an important contribution to the legally secure and practical implementation of public procurement procedures.

The representatives of the commercial law firm were impressed by the structured argumentation, the methodological depth and the clear legal assessment in Pischulti's work. With his thesis, he has made an important contribution to the current debate on transparency, fairness and efficiency in public procurement. 

Congratulations!