ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors turn their attention to the USA. They see the criteria in a more systematic way, and develop how each one of them is exposed to subjectivity. The authors attempt to construe a positive duty of government to systematise the criteria of evaluation based on this concept, specifically, the prohibition of vagueness. In cases where the criteria of accountability for PPPs are linked to the imposition of criminal sanctions, the need for certainty and the prohibition of vagueness is even more intense. The authors examine the interaction between the criteria of accountability and the Economic Constitution in the USA. The introduction of techniques would potentially limit their ambiguity to some extent, without eliminating it completely, leaving an element of discretion with the public authorities.
