General Court examines equal treatment and transparency principles in formulating and applying public contract award criteria (Proof IT SIA v EIGE)

Table of contents

• What are the practical implications of this case?
• What was the background?
• What did the court decide?
• Case details

Article summary

Public Law analysis: Rejecting this action for annulment, the General Court highlighted some useful principles. In particular, applying award criteria in a second evaluation process within the same public procurement exercise, does not breach the underlying EU Treaty principles of transparency and equal treatment. When pleading manifest error, a tenderer must fully substantiate its case, show that it committed to the process (using opportunities for clarification), and took a proactive approach to completing its bid response. Written by Louise Huson, senior professional support lawyer at DLA Piper UK.