Introduction

Many governments worldwide have been proactive in assigning important roles to private contractors in the provision of public services. In this chapter, the authors explore the criteria of public accountability which have been developed for the systems of accountability for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), and the principles of the Economic Constitution which direct and shape their operation in the respective systems. They provide an introductory account of the reasons for which the Economic Constitution constitutes an appropriate framework for our research, which focuses on these accountability arrangements. Given that PPPs involve a significant expenditure of public money, the issue which arises, and on which the people will focus our inquiry, relates to how well these mechanisms of public accountability serve their purpose. The mechanisms of constitutional accountability towards the legislature over the use of PPPs operate on the basis of a number of criteria, which are the concepts which will be crucial in the accountability process.