The Directory is based on data from the 2023 Global Suspension & Debarment Survey and provides information on how different jurisdictions apply various exclusion mechanisms**, presented in a standardized comparative format.

The 2025 edition covers 32 jurisdictions and 4 international organizations: Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Australia, Western Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Viet Nam, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Canada, the United States, as well as the Inter-American Development Bank Group, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Bank Group Corporate Procurement, and the World Bank Group Sanctions Board. A summary table for each jurisdiction is available in Appendices 1 and 2 to the document, as well as on the World Bank’s website.

For each country/organization, the Directory examines, inter alia:

• the scope of exclusion (including whether it constitutes a jurisdiction-wide exclusion framework);
• the legal framework and substantive grounds for exclusion;
• the authority or decision-maker responsible for imposing exclusion;
• general procedural features of exclusion proceedings (type of procedures, decision deadline, availability of provisional exclusions);
• the commencement of proceedings, notice requirements, opportunity to be heard, appellate review, and the possibility of subsequent modification of an exclusion decision;
• the grounds for exclusion (automatic exclusion and discretionary exclusion). Appendix 3 also contains a consolidated table indicating in which cases (e.g., corruption, fraud, collusion, conflict of interest, social harm, environmental harm, etc.) exclusion is imposed automatically or discretionary;
• grounds for non-application of exclusion (e.g., bankruptcy or cross-debarment), as well as recognition of compliance programs as a mitigating factor;
• the scope and effect of exclusion, including its impact on ongoing contracts, on the excluded contractor and its affiliates, and the recognition of cross-debarment;
• the types of excluded suppliers (natural persons and/or legal entities), the duration of exclusions, and available exceptions/waivers;
• the existence of an official list of excluded suppliers, publication of information regarding waivers, settlements, and reporting on exclusions;
• the existence of procurement checks to verify whether potential suppliers are subject to exclusion;
• available remedies, including criminal referrals, monetary remedies, and other non-exclusion remedies.

*The First Edition was published in 2021 and is available here. It covered 20 jurisdictions and 3 organizations.

**“Exclusion” refers to the exclusion of contractors from competing for or receiving public procurement contracts for reasons other than failure to meet contract-specific qualification requirements. Synonyms for the term “exclusion” across jurisdictions include, inter alia, “suspension,” “debarment,” “disqualification,” “blacklisting,” or a “register of unreliable contractors.” However, as noted by the authors, there is no uniform name for such systems, nor a uniform model for their implementation across jurisdictions; therefore, for purposes of conformity, the Directory consistently uses the term “exclusion.”