Legal Advisory: Maritime PSO Contract Design – Croatia

The World Bank invites expressions of interest from qualified law firms to provide legal advisory services in support of the reform of Croatia's maritime passenger transport Public Service Obligation (PSO) framework, under a Reimbursable Advisory Services (RAS) agreement with the Government of Croatia. Assignment scope: The Firm will provide senior legal expertise on PSO contract design, EU State aid and Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI) compliance, EU public procurement and concessions law, and PPP/infrastructure contracting in the maritime sector. Work includes: assessing the legal basis of existing public service contracts, entrustment acts and compensation arrangements against EU requirements; assessing the legal viability of modular reform options (payment mechanisms, ticketing, fare policy, route bundling, fleet and vessel ownership models, contract duration, monitoring); designing the legal architecture of new PSO contracts, tenders and transition mechanisms targeting June 2027; and providing the legal content of a long-term reform roadmap, together with competition-enhancement and capacity-building support. Role: The Firm's role is advisory to the World Bank team supporting the Client's structuring process. It does not draft legally binding domestic instruments or take decisions on the Client's behalf, and is not required to field Croatian-qualified lawyers, given reliance on the Client's local legal counsel for Croatian law matters.

Procurement number: 0002023819. Expressions of interest are submitted through the World Bank Group's eProcure (RFx Now) portal, which requires vendor registration.