The reversal of precedent obtained by & DE BANDT before the General Court of the European Union in December 2014 has been recently confirmed in appeal.
In its decision of 23 April 2015, the Vice-President of the Court of justice confirmed that, having regard to the existence of a general principle of EU law resulting from the right to an effective judicial remedy, there were grounds for easing the requirement laid down in case-law for urgency in public procurement matters, to the effect that serious but not irreparable harm is sufficient to establish it, where the prima facie case is particularly serious.
Nevertheless, the Vice-President of the Court held that this easing of the requirement for urgency in public procurement matters applies only if the application for interim measures is made before the contract is concluded with the successful tenderer. Furthermore, that limitation in time is itself subject to two conditions: (i) the 10 days standstill period laid down in Article 171(1) of Regulation No 1268/2012 has to be complied with before conclusion of the contract and (ii) the unsuccessful tenderer has to have sufficient information to exercise its right to make an application for interim measures within that period.
Our lawyers are proud to have contributed to this fundamental new approach in case law and to have participated to this crucial evolution for Europe.
For more information, you can read the decision of 23 April 2015 here