CELEX: 62008CJ0327
Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations
Directives 89/665/EEC and 92/13/EEC
Review procedures concerning the award of public contracts
Guarantee of effective review
Minimum period to be ensured between notification to the unsuccessful candidates and tenderers of the decision to award a contract and the signature of the contract concerned

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Infringement of Article 2(1) of Council Directive 89/665/EEC of 21 December
1989 on the coordination of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of review procedures
to the award of public supply and public works contracts (OJ 1989 L 395, p. 33), as amended by Council Directive 92/50/EEC
(OJ 1992 L 209, p. 1) and of Article 2(1) of Council Directive 92/13/EEC of 25 February 1992 coordinating the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions relating to the application of Community rules on the procurement procedures of entities operating
in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors (OJ 1992 L 76, p. 14) – Minimum time-limit to be complied with
between the notice of award of contract to the candidates and tenderers and the signature of the relevant contract.
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Declares that, by adopting and maintaining in force Article 1441-1 of the new Code of Civil Procedure, as amended by Article
48-1º of Decree No 2005-1308 of 20 October 2005 concerning contracts awarded by the contracting authorities referred to in
Article 4 of Order No 2005-649 of 6 June 2005 on contracts awarded by certain public bodies or private persons not subject
to the Public Procurement Code, in so far as that provision imposes on the contracting authority or entity a ten-day period
within which to respond to a formal challenge – the bringing of any pre-contractual proceedings before that response being
precluded – and where that period does not have the effect of suspending the period which must be ensured between the notification
to the unsuccessful candidates and tenderers of the decision to award the contract and the signature of that contract, the
French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Council Directive 89/665/EEC of 21 December 1989 on the coordination
of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of review procedures to the award of public
supply and public works contracts, as amended by Council Directive 92/50/EEC of 18 June 1992, and Council Directive 92/13/EEC
of 25 February 1992 coordinating the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of Community
rules on the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors;
2.
Dismisses the action as to the remainder;
3.
Orders the Commission of the European Communities and the French Republic to bear their own costs.