RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/TN1994/5/Rev.8/Add.1  
 
11 November 2008  
(24-3182) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Government Procurement  
Negotiations under Article XXIV:7 of the GPA 1994  
Comité des marchés publics  
Négociations au titre de l'article XXIV:7 de l'AMP 1994  
Comité de Contratación Pública  
Negociaciones en el marco del párrafo 7 del artículo XXIV del 
ACP 1994   
 
VERIFICATION OF THE LINGUISTIC CONSISTENCY OF THE ENGLISH,  
FRENCH AND SPANISH VERSIONS OF THE REVISED GPA TEXT:   
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS REGARDING THE SPANISH TEXT*,** 
NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT  
Addendum  
Further to Job No. 7484, dated 6 October 2008, the Spanish translation team has provided the 
following additional comments regarding the use of "concurso" and "concurso de diseño" as well as 
the plural form "las Partes " and the singular form "la Parte".  They are provided for the 
consideration of delegations.  
 
The use of "concurso" and "concurso de proyecto" in Article XIII.1(h)(ii)  
 
 The fifth use of the word "concu rso" in the  "Diccionario de la Lengua E spañola" reads as 
follows:  
 
5. Competencia entre quienes aspiran a encargarse de ejecutar una obra o 
prestar un servicio bajo determinadas condiciones, a fin de elegir la propuesta 
que ofrezca mayores ventajas.  (Competition among those who aspire to be 
commissioned for carrying out a work  or providing a service  under certain 
conditions, for the purposes of selecting the proposal which offers the greater 
advantages ). (emphasis added)  
 
 Without a modifier of some kind, t his definition is broad  and would encompass any 
competition for any type  of works or services.  
 
 In the English version, the  addition of the word "design", in the phrase "design contest", 
seems to qualify the competition and the kind of work  to be carried out or service  to be provided . 
It does not concern just any work or service, but  a "design".  
 
 Regarding  the most appropriate translation of "design contest" into Spanish, it should be 
noted that, according to the "Oxford English Dictionary", the term "design" has several meanings, 
among them : 
 
 Design:  
 
1.a. A plan or scheme conceived in the mind and intended for subsequent 
execution; the preliminary conception of an idea that is to be carried into effect 
by action; a project.  
 
 
* In English only.  
** Pursuant to the relevant Decision of the Committee on Government Procurement ( GPA/CD/5  
(16/11/2023)), this document (informal document symbol: negs 303) was derestricted on 8 November 2023.  GPA/TN1994/5/Rev.8/Add.1  
 
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  6. A preliminary sketch for a picture or other work of art; the plan of a 
building or any par t of it, or the outline of a piece of decorative work, after which 
the actual structure or texture is to be completed; a delineation, pattern.  
 
7.a. The combination of artistic details or architectural features which go to 
make up a picture, statue, buildi ng, etc.; the artistic idea as executed; a piece of 
decorative work, an artistic device.  
 
8. The art of picturesque delineation and construction; original work in a 
graphic or plastic art.  
 
 The "Diccionario de la Lengua E spañola" includes several uses of the words "proyecto" and 
"diseño", including the following:  
 
 Proyecto:  
 
3. Designio o pensamiento de ejecutar algo.  (a plan or thought of carrying 
out something ) 
 
4. Conjunto de escritos, cálculos y dibujos que se hacen para dar idea de 
cómo ha de ser y lo que ha de costar una obra de arquitectura o de ingeniería.  
(writings, calculations and drawings, as a whole, made for the purposes of 
providing an idea of how an architectural or engineering work will be and how 
much it will cost ) 
 
 Diseño:  
 
1. Traza o delineación de un edificio o de una figura. (plan or delineation of 
a building or of a figure ). 
 
2. Proyecto, plan.  (project, plan ). Diseño urbanístico . (urbanistic design ) 
 
3. Concepción original de un objeto u obra destinados a la producción en 
serie.  (an original conception of an object or work for mass production ) Diseñ o 
gráfico, de modas, industrial . (graphic, fashion , industrial design ) 
 
 It should also be noted that in recent regional trade agreements to which Spanish -
speaking countries are a party ( inter alia , Chile -EFTA, Chile -EU, México -Israel) the Spanish text for 
"design contest" reads "concurso de diseño".  This approach might make sense in the GPA, as well.  
 
The stylistic use of plural "las Partes" and singular "la P arte"  
 
 Regarding the use of plural ("las partes", "las entidades contratantes") and singular 
("la/una parte", "la/una entidad contratante") throughout the text, after a careful considera tion of 
the latest version of the GPA Spanish text, including the options selected in the "Joint US -EC 
Submission" (J ob No. 6951), it would seem appropriate to make changes to the following 
provisions:  
 
 - Article VI.1.b):  to put "...dichas disposiciones a toda Parte que la solicite", 
instead of "...dichas disposiciones a las Partes que la soliciten";  
 
 - Article IX.1:  to put "Cada Parte, incluidas sus entidades contratantes, podrá 
mantener...", instead of  "Las Partes, incluidas sus entidades contratantes, podrán 
mantener...";  
 
 - Article X.6:  to put, in the first option, "[Queda entendido que toda Parte], 
incluidas sus entidades contratantes [podrá]...", instead of "[Queda entendido que 
las Partes], inclui das sus entidades contratantes [podrán]".  
 
 The rationale for these proposed changes  is that in the  first line of the  preamble to the 
provisionally agreed  GPA text,  "las Partes" is already defined as "las Partes en el presente GPA/TN1994/5/Rev.8/Add.1  
 
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  Acuerdo".  In order to avoid any possible misunderstanding, a suggestion is made to maintain the 
singular form for "Parte" in the Spanish text for those provisions.  
 
 No other substantial difficulty has been found with respect to the use of plural/singular 
form in different prov isions of the GPA revised text.  As explained before, while the singular form 
("a Party", "a procuring entity") is generally used  in the English text , when it is applicable to the 
whole class, the use of the plural form (or "toda", or "la") se ems to be appropriate in Spanish 
(instead of "una", in particular when it refers to an oblig ation).  
 
 As an additional point, it is suggested not to use "una" in Article XV.1, as the obligation 
refers to the whole class of entities . 
 
 Concerning the defini tion of "entidad contratante" , in Article I, it does not seem necessary 
to include the plural form "entidades contratantes".  Definitions are generally expressed in singular 
and without article, as in dictionaries, and then adapted to the context.  For inst ance, the same 
phrase ("procuring entity") is used both in the singular and the plural form ("procuring entities") 
throughout the English text.  
 
 Lastly, regarding the global consistency of the text, it has been noted that, in the definition 
of "procuring entity" ("an entity covered under a Party's Annex  1, 2 or 3 to Appendix  I") included 
in the Spanish text ("por entidad contratante se entiende una entidad comprendida en el Anexo 1, 
2 ó 3 del Apéndice I de una Parte"), the words "covered under" are translated as "comprendida 
en". Notwithstanding, in other parts of the text, the same words (referred to entities), have been 
translated as "abarcada(s) por".  In order to be consistent with the definition, it is suggest ed that 
"abarcada(s) por" be replaced  with the words "comprendida(s) en" throughout the text.  If 
acceptable, this change would involve the following articles:  
 
 - Article VII .1(a); 
 - Article VII.1(b); 
 - Article  VII.1, line 12;  
 - Article  VII.5;  
 - Article  IX.12;  
 - Article  IX:13;  and 
 - Article  XI.8. 
 
 
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