English Court adopts pragmatic approach in rejecting ineffectiveness claim for lack of OJEU notice (AEW Europe and others v Basingstoke and Dean Borough Council)

Article summary

Public Law analysis: Sir Robert Akenhead has followed Mann J’s lead in Alstom v Eurostar in holding that so long as there is a sufficient connection or relation between a contract notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU notice) and the subsequent awarded contract, then that will be enough to avoid a declaration of ineffectiveness, even if the service, goods or activity to be provided under the contract is materially different to that mentioned in the original notice. In this case, the court opted for commercial realism and pragmatism over the formalism of compliance with the public procurement rules. It will be interesting to see if the English appellate courts or even the Court of Justice, agrees, should this or any other case get that far (before Brexit). Written by Adam Heppinstall, barrister at Henderson Chambers.