RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE GPA/10
10January 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-0045)
Original: English Committee onGovernment Procurement
NOTIFICATION OFNATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION
Communication from Norway
Theattached communication hasbeen received from Norway inaccordance withtheCommittee
Decision of4June 1996 relating totheprocedures fortheNotification ofNational Implementing
Legislation (GPA/1/Add.1).GPA/10
Page 2
1. SUMMARY OFTHE NORWEGIAN LEGISLATION ONPUBLIC PROCUREMENT1
Norway 'sinternational obligations inthearea ofpublic procurement have been transposed
intonational legislation through onelawandfourregulations, hereinafter "theregulations", transposing
both theEuropean Economic Area (EEA) Directives andtheWTO Agreement onGovernment
Procurement (GPA). These are:
· "Lov omoffentlige anskaffelser mv" of27November 1992 (The Public Procurement Act)
· "Forskrift omtildeling avkontrakter omoffentlige varekj øp"of4December 1992 (The public
supplies Regulation, SPR)
· "Forskrift omtildeling avkontrakter omoffentlige tjenestekj øp"of1July 1994 (The public
services Regulation, SR)
· "Forskrift omtildeling avoffentlige bygge- oganleggskontrakter" of4December 1994 (The
public works Regulation, WR)
· "Forskrift ominnkj øpsregler foroppdragsgivere innen vann- ogenergiforsyning, transport
ogtelekommunikasjon" of16December 1994 (The Regulation ofprocurement procedures of
entities operating inwater, energy, transport andtelecommunications sectors, UR).
TheRegulations onsupplies, services andworks contracts cover entities inthe"Public Sector".
TheRegulation onprocurement procedures ofentities operating inthewater-, energy-, transport- and
telecommunications sectors iscalled "the Utilities Sector" Regulation.
Since theGPA rules onpublic procurement toalarge extent coincide with theEEA rules, only
minor amendments were made inthelawandtheregulations in1996 tobring theNorwegian legislation
inaccordance with theGPA.
THE BASIC PRINCIPLES
1. Thedetailed rules oftheregulations apply toprocurements withanexpected totalcontract value
above certain threshold values.
Thethreshold values after theentry intoforce oftheGPA are:
• NOK 1,100,000 exVAT forcentral government entities 'supplies andservice procurements.
This threshold value isbrought about bytheGPA;
• NOK 1,650,000 exVAT forother Public sector entities 'supplies andservice contracts;
1The following publications (inNorwegian) areavailable forconsultation intheIntellectual Property andInvestment
Division (office 3057): thePublic Procurement Act(Lovomoffentlige anskaffelser m.v. -Ajourf ørtmed endringer, senest
vedlovav15.mars 1996 nr.15); thePublic Supplies Regulation (Forskrift omtildeling avkontrakter omoffentlige varekj øp-
Fastsatt vedkgl.res. av4.desember 1992 med endringer, sistvedkglresav13.september 1996); thePublic Services
Regulation (Forskrift omtildeling avkontrakter omoffentlige tjenestekj øp-Fastsatt vedkgl.res. av1.juli1994 med endringer,
sistved kglresav13.september 1996); thePublic Works Regulation (Forskrift omtildeling avoffentlige bygge- og
anleggskontrakter -Fastsatt vedkgl.res. 4.desember 1992 med endringer, sistvedkglresav13.september 1996); and
theRegulation ofProcurement Procedures ofEntities Operating intheWater, Energy, Transport andTelecommunications
Sectors (Forskrift ominnkjøpsregler foroppdragsgivere innen vann- ogenergiforsyning, transport ogtelekommunikasjon
(forsyningssektorene )-Fastsatt vedkgl.res. av16.desember 1994 med endringer, sistvedkglresav13.september 1996)GPA/10
Page 3
• NOK 41,500,000 exVAT forallcovered entities 'works projects;
• NOK 3,300,000 exVAT forutilities entities 'supplies andservice contracts other than inthe
telecommunications sector;
• NOK 4,950,000 exVAT forsupplies andservice contracts awarded bytelecom utilities.
Therearedetailedrulesconcerningthecalculationofestimatedcontractvaluesregardingthesethresholds.
These have been explained indocument GPA/W/12/Add.6.
2. Nodiscrimination onthegrounds ofnationality ofsuppliers andservice providers from GPA
Parties isallowed when conducting public procurement.
Inaddition, there isaprinciple ofequal treatment ofsuppliers, even where only national suppliers
andservice providers areinvolved inthecompetition foraspecific contract.
3. International publicity iswarranted bypublicizing Contract Notices, Contract Award Notices
andPeriodic Indicative Notices etc.intheOfficial Journal oftheEC(OJEC) andinthedatabase Tenders
Electronic Daily (TED).
4. Internationalcompetitionisassuredbytenderprocedures;negotiatedproceduresareonlyallowed
inexceptional situations. There aremore flexible rules regarding notices andtheuseofnegotiated
procedures intheUtilities sector.
5. There isobligatory useofobjective, non-discriminatory criteria inboth the
- selection ofcandidates andfor
- theaward ofcontracts.
Theselection criteria tobeused andthedocumentation thatcanbeasked forareregulated indetail
bytheRegulations.
Theaward criteria must inprinciple beofdirect economic relevance totheprocuring entity. Criteria
such aslocal employment conditions, national content andlocal, national taxrevenue orgeneral
environmental aspects may notbeconsidered. Aesthetic andfunctional aspects may however beduly
taken intoaccount.
6. Any firm thatparticipates inapublic procurement procedure may bring anaction against the
contracting entity before thelocal Court ofJustice concerning alleged breaches oftherules. Inaddition
there isachallenge procedure available forsuppliers andservice providers through theEFTA
Surveillance Authority.
APPLICABILITY OFTHE REGULATIONS
Several conditions have tobefulfilled ifaprocurement istobecovered bytheregulations:
1. Theprocurer must bea(central, regional, local) government authority ora"body governed
bypublic law" inthePublic sector, or,only intheUtilities sector, apublic undertaking oraprivate
undertaking enjoying special rights.GPA/10
Page 4
2. IntheUtilities sector, itisalsonecessary toestablish thattheprocurement isconnected toone
ormore ofthecovered activities inthesectors of
- provision ofwater, electricity, gasorheat,
- theexploration andexploitation ofoil,gasandcoal fields,
- theprovision ofair,land andseatransport terminal facilities,
- theprovision ofpublic transport networks or
- theprovision ofpublic telecommunication services.
3. Theprocurement must beacommercial contract, note.g."in-house".
4. InthePublic sector, ithastobedecided which ofthethree regulations applies.
5. Exemptions have tobechecked, such as
- many research anddevelopment service contracts;
- contracts awarded byinternational organizations such astheUNorinconnection with
common bilateral projects etc.;
- when aservice orworks procurement consists ofseveral lots, individual lotsbelow
avalue ECU 80,000/1 mill. respectively accounting forupto20% ofthetotal project
costcanbeexempted.
IntheUtilities sector, there areseveral additional exemption rules.
PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES TOBEUSED
1. Tender procedures
InthePublic sector, theprinciple isthattender procedures with aprior Tender Notice have tobeused.
Thecontracting authority canchoose freely between open andselective tender procedures.
Inopen tender procedures, which consist ofoneround, anyundertaking established inacountry party
totheEEA Agreement ortheGPA canparticipate. Thequalitative selection ofcandidates andthe
selection ofthewinning tenderer (two separate evaluations) aredone onedirectly after theother.
Inselective tender procedures, which consist ofa"selection round" andaseparate "tender round",
anyfirmcanrequest tobeinvited totender, butonly thecandidates selected bythecontracting authority
onthebasis oftheir general qualification forthetype ofcontract tobeperformed, aresentthetender
documents andasked tobid.
2. Negotiated procedure
Thenegotiated procedure, alsoconsisting ofaselection round andan"offer/ negotiation round". Here,
thecontracting authority cannegotiate freely with thequalified suppliers onthebasis oftheir offers.
Itcanonly beused inexceptional cases inthePublic sector.
Incertain situations, thecontracting authority canusethenegotiated procedure with prior notice,
especially when procuring services andworks.GPA/10
Page 5
Inexceptional situations defined narrowly bytheregulations thenegotiated procedure without prior
notice canbemade useof,forinstance inemergency situations orwhen supplies areprocured only
forresearch anddevelopment purposes.
However, theother rules oftheregulations dostillapply insuch cases, e.g.theobligation topublish
acontract award notice, andtheprinciple ofequal treatment.
3. TheUtilities sector
IntheUtilities sector, both tender procedures andthenegotiated procedure with aprior callfor
competition canalways beused. Furthermore, thelistofexceptional situations which allow theuse
ofthenegotiated procedure without prior callforcompetition ismuch longer, covering e.g.supplies
procured atacommodity exchange.
Inaddition, procuring entities canoperate qualification systems which only aremade known inone
single annual notice. Aprocurement falling intoacategory theentity operates aqualification system
forwillnotbeindividually announced. Selective tender procedures ornegotiated procedures areused
within thequalification systems.
4. Design contests
Whenprocuringservices,procuringentitiesinthePublicandUtilitiessectorcanorganizedesigncontests
(with prior notices) andcannegotiate with thewinner/winners ofthedesign contest inorder toarrive
atafinal agreement.
5. Minimum time limits
Theregulations state certain minimum time limits toberespected bytheprocuring entities. They can
bereduced incases ofjustified haste orwhen theentity haspublished aso-called Periodic Indicative
Notice about itsprocurement plans inthefollowing year. Thetime limits arecalculated from theday
thenotice issentbytheprocuring entity. Ittakes upto12days topublish them intheOfficial Journal.
Tenders areonly tobeaccepted when theyarrive attheprocuring entities 'office within thesetdeadline.
This means thattheamount oftime available totenderers islessample than itmight seem tobe.
Thetime limits must notbeused inorder todiscriminate against foreign suppliers. This means that
itcanbenecessary togive tenderers more time when theobject ofthecontract isvery complicated
orvery large.
RULES ONTHE USE OFTECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Itisnotcompulsory tousetechnical specifications.
Ifspecifications areused, theprinciple isthatEuropean technical specifications ortheir national identical
copies have tobeused. There are,however, anumber ofexceptions.
Individual brand names canonly beused when there isabsolutely noother method ofdescribing the
required commodities, andmust befollowed bythewords "orequivalent".GPA/10
Page 6
TheGPA hasintroduced anexplicit ruleontheuseofprofessional advice inthepreparation oftechnical
specifications foraspecific procurement. Such advice may notbeaccepted from firms which "may
have acommercial interest intheprocurement itself" ifthiswould "preclude competition".
RULES ONTRANSPARENCY -JUSTIFICATION
Procuring entities have toprepare andkeep reports covering certain information forevery procurement,
which theEFTA Surveillance Authority canaskforinthecourse ofmonitoring orinfraction procedures.
Theprocuring entity isobliged tojustify itsaward decision vis-à-vis anyunsuccessful tenderer who
sodemands inwriting, within 15days. Itmust give reasons both forwhy theunsuccessful tenderer
wasnotchosen, andastotherelevant advantages ofthewinning tender, butnotdisclose anypublic
orcommercial secrets.
PROTECTION OFCOMMERCIAL SECRETS
Any tenderer hastheright vis-à-vis theprocuring entity thatcommercial secrets, contained inthe
information hegives inthecourse ofatender procedure, bekept secret from other competitors. The
interests oftransparency andprotection ofcommercial secrets have tobeweighed against each other
bytheprocuring entity onanindividual basis ineach case.
REVIEW PROCEDURES AND SANCTIONS
Any firm thatparticipates inpublic procurement procedures cancomplain about alleged breaches of
therules. Thesupplier isfirstofallencouraged totakeupthematter with theentity concerned directly.
Ifthisdoes notgiveanyresults, theformal procedure istobring anaction against thecontracting entity
before thecompetent national Court ofJustice.
InthePublic sector, thereview procedures open forthree types ofsanctions ifthesupplier isestablished
inanEEA/GPA country:
• Rapid interim measures (court injunctions) temporarily suspending procurement
procedures during thechallenge procedure.
However, thenational review bodies canweigh theinterest ofthecomplainant in
securing thecontract against thepublic interest intheprocurement being executed
without delay, anddeny injunctions where thepublic interest outweighs thesupplier 's
interest.
After acontract hasbeen awarded, thenational remedies procedures donotopen for
injunctions.
• Thesetting aside/nullification ofactsanddecisions taken bytheprocuring entity in
breach oftheregulations. This type ofsanction does notallow there-opening of
procurement procedures after thecontract hasbeen awarded.GPA/10
Page 7
• Theaward ofdamages totheoffended supplier orsuppliers. Thedamages willnot
necessarily belimited to"negative interest" (the costs and losses incurred by
participating intheaward procedure). Itisalsopossible todemand damages forthe
lostprofit, oratleast apartofit(positive interest).
IntheUtilities sector, thesame applies with thefollowing special elements:
• Instead ofallowing forrapid interim measures thatstop anongoing procurement
procedure, Norway haschosen toopen forimposing ontheprocuring entity a
conditional fine"high enough todissuade" theentity from committing orcontinuing
theactwhich isclaimed tobeinbreach oftherules.
• Inorder fordamages tobeadjudged, thecomplaining supplier only hastoprove that
he"would have hadarealchance "ofbeing awarded thecontract, hadthediscrimination
notoccurred. Nogreater burden ofproof must belaidonthecomplainant. Inthe
Utilities sector, theNorwegian ActonPublic Procurement only allows fordamages
forbidcosts (negative interest) tobeawarded tooffended undertakings.
2. OTHERLEG ISLATIONGIVINGEFFECTTOTHEAGREEM ENTONGOVERNMENT
PROCUREMENT
TheEEA Actof27November 1992.
3. CONTACT POINT
Requests from another Party concerning theGPA shall beaddressed to:
TheMinistry ofIndustry andTrade
P.O. Box8014 Dep
0030 Oslo
NorwayGPA/10
Page 8
4. ANSWERS TOCHECKLIST OFISSUES
I. General elements
1. HastheAgreement been transposed intonational lawand/or does itapply directly?
TheAgreement hasbeen transposed intonational law. Itdoes notapply directly.
2. Inthecasethatentities below thefederal orcentral state level arecovered: arethese categories
ofentities autonomous from federal orcentral state level government intheimplementation
oftheAgreement?
No.
3. Inthecase thatAnnex 3entities arecovered: arethese categories ofentities autonomous in
theimplementation oftheAgreement ordothey apply thelegislation provided bythe
federal/central orsub-central level?
Annex 3entities apply thelegislation laiddown bytheGovernment.
4. Which main differences (ifany) exist between theimplementing laws atthefederal orcentral
level, thesub-central level andforAnnex 3entities?
There arenodifferences.
5. Towhat extent isinformation technology used intheprocess ofgovernment procurement?
EverycontractabovetherelevantthresholdsintheRegulationshastobepublishedinthedatabase
Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) according totheEEA Agreement. Otherwise, information technology
isnotmuch used ingovernment procurement. This willhowever increase inthefuture duetoseveral
projects inthefield ofinformation technology such astheSIMAP, PROPLAN, EDIRAM andDOFFIN
projects. Thelatter projects have been described inthedocuments GPA/IC/W/7/Add.6/Suppl.1 and
GPA/W/24/Add.1.
II. Specific elements
6. Identify thespecific provisions inyour legislation which reflect thenational treatment andnon-
discrimination commitments ofArticle IIIoftheAgreement.
§5Aineach oftheRegulations onthePublic sector and§13nr1intheUtilities Regulation.
7. Article IX:2 oftheAgreement foresees thattheinvitation toparticipate maytaketheform of
anoticeofproposedprocurement.Ifyourimplementinglegislationprovidesforthisopportunity,
give details.
According totheRegulations thetender notice hastofollow certain models. Thetender notice
shall givedetails oftheproject, saywhere andwhen thetenders shall bedelivered andcallfortenderersGPA/10
Page 9
orsuppliers who wish tobeconsidered tomake tenders (SPR §§19,20,SR§§19,20,WR§§21,
22,UR§§26,27).2
8. Article IX:3 oftheAgreement foresees thatentities atthesub-central level aswellasAnnex 3
entities mayuseanotice ofplanned procurement oranotice regarding aqualification system
asaninvitation toparticipate. Ifyour implementing legislation provides forthisopportunity,
give details.
TheNorwegian legislation does notprovide forthisopportunity atsub-central level, justin
theUtilities sector (§18No1cintheUtilities Regulation).
9. Inthecase ofselective tendering procedures: towhat extent areentities allowed touse
permanent listsofsuppliers oristhere arequirement forlistsofsuppliers tobeselected on
acontract-by-contract basis?
Only intheUtilities sector itisallowed touseapermanent listofsuppliers, UR§34.Inthe
Public sector thesuppliers have tobeselected onacontract-to-contract basis.
10. Article XIVoftheAgreement allows fornegotiation under certain conditions. Areentities
allowed toproceed tonegotiations? Ifso,which categories andwhat aretheconditions
imposed?
Allcategories ofentities may usethenegotiated procedure under certain conditions. These
are:
(a) - Inthecase ofirregular tenders inresponse toanopen orrestricted tender procedure
orinthecase oftenders which areunacceptable under national provisions insofar
thattheoriginal terms forthecontract arenotsubstantially altered (SPR §10No2,
SR§10No2a,WR§10No2a)
- when thenature oftheworks/services ortherisks attaching thereto donotpermit overall
pricing (only work andservices, SR§10No2b,WR§10No2c)
- when theartoftheservice makes itdifficult tomake thenecessary specifications for
anopen orarestricted procedure (only services, SR§10No2c)
- when theworks areonly forresearch anddevelopment purposes (only work, WR§10
No2b)
- instead ofatender procedure, UR§17No1.
Inthese cases atender notice shall bepublished.
(b) Negotiated procedure without aprior tender notice canbeused inthefollowing cases:
2SPR =The Supplies Regulation, SR=The Service Regulation, WR =The Works Regulation, UR=The Utility
RegulationGPA/10
Page 10
- Intheabsence oftenders orappropriate tenders (SPR §10No3a,SR§10No3a,
WR§10No3a,UR§17No2a)
- when fortechnical orartistic reasons, orforreasons connected with protections of
exclusive rights there isonly onesupplier (SPR §10No3c,SR§10No3c,WR§10
No3b,UR§17No2c)
- when itisstrictly necessary andforreasons ofextreme urgency brought upbyreasons
unforeseen fortheprocurer, thetimelimits foropen, restricted ornegotiated procedure
cannot bekept (SPR §10No3d,SR§10No3d,WR§10No3c,UR§17No2d)
- when theproducts involved aremanufactured purely forthepurpose ofresearch,
experiment, study ordevelopment (only goods, SPR §10No3b,UR§17No2b)
- foradditional deliveries bytheoriginal supplier under certain conditions (only goods,
SPR §10No3e,UR§17No2e)
- when theservice contract concerned ispartofthefollow-up ofadesign contest under
certain conditions (only services, SR§10No3c,UR§17No2l)
- foradditional works/services notincluded intheproject initially considered orinthe
contract firstconcluded under certain conditions (only works andservices, SR§10
No3e,WR§10No3d,UR§17No2f)
- fornewwork consisting ofarepetition ofsimilar works entrusted totheundertaking
towhich thesame procurer awarded asimilar contract under certain conditions (only
works andservices, SR§10No3f,WR§10No3e,UR§17No2g)
- forsupplies quoted andpurchased onacommodity market (only theUtility sector,
UR§17No2h)
- forcontracts tobeawarded onthebasis ofaframework agreement under certain
conditions (only theUtility sector, UR§17No2j)
- forbargain purchases under certain conditions (only theUtility sector, UR§17No2j)
- forpurchases ofgoods under particularly advantageous conditions under certain
conditions (only theUtility sector, UR§17No2k).
11. Article XIcontains thetime-limits fortendering anddelivery. Time-limits shall normally be
"not lessthatXdays". Does thedomestic legislation reflect thevarious minimum time-limits
assetoutintheAgreement? Ifnot,give information onanylonger time limits which have
been established.
TheNorwegianlegislationhasestablishedtimelimitsassetoutintheEEA andGPAAgreements.
These include 12days forsending thenotices andpublishing them through thepublication Office in
Luxembourg. Thetime limits hence are:
(a) Inopen procedures thetime limit forreceipt oftenders shall notbelessthan 52days from
thedateofdispatch ofthenotice (SPR §15No1,SR§16No1,WR§16No1,UR§24
No1).GPA/10
Page 11
(b) Thetime limit inopen procedures maybereduced to36days where theprocurer haspublished
anindicative notice making known thecontracts itintends toaward (only work andservices,
SR§16No1,WR§16No1,UR§24No1).
(c) Inrestricted procedures andnegotiated procedures thetime limit forreceipt ofrequests to
participate shall benotlessthan 37days from thedate ofdispatch ofthenotice (SPR §17
No1,SR§17No1,WR§17No1).
IntheUtility sector thetime limit shall asageneral rulenotbelessthan 37days from the
dateofdispatch ofthenotice, butunder nocircumstances lessthan 22days or15days under
certain conditions (UR§24No2).
(d) Thetime limit inrestricted procedures andnegotiated procedure may bereduced to26days
where theprocurers have published anindicative notice making known thecontracts theyintend
toaward (only work andservices, SR§17No4,WR§17No3)
12. Towhat extent does theimplementing legislation allow entities, inpursuance ofArticle XII:1,
topermit tenders tobesubmitted inseveral languages (one ofwhich hastobealanguage
oftheWTO)? Towhat extent doentities usethisflexibility?
Theentities areallowed topermit tenders tobesubmitted inanylanguages, including theofficial
languages ofWTO (SPR §33,SR§42,WR§39,UR§43).
Among thelarge Norwegian public procurers about 75% permit tenders tobesubmitted in
other languages thanNorwegian. Most common istopermit tenders tobesubmitted inSwedish, Danish
andEnglish.
III. Challenge procedures -Article XX
13. Paragraph 3ofArticle XXrequires each Party toprovide itschallenge procedures inwriting
andmake them generally available. Please provide thisinformation.
Anyfirmthatparticipatesinpublicprocurementproceduresmaycomplainaboutallegedbreaches
oftherules. Thesupplier isfirst ofallencouraged totake upthematter with theentity concerned
directly. Ifthisdoes notgive anyresults, theformal procedure istobring anaction against the
contracting entity before thecompetent national Court ofJustice (thecounty court). Allofthenormal
national legislation oncivil court procedures applies.
InthePublic sector, thereview procedures open forthree types ofsanctions (PPA §§3,4
and53):
- Rapid interim measures (court injunctions) temporarily suspending procurement
procedures during thechallenge procedure.
However, thenational review bodies canweigh theinterest ofthecomplainant in
securing thecontract against thepublic interest intheprocurement being executed
without delay, anddeny injunctions where thepublic interest outweighs thesupplier 's
interest.
3PPA =thePublic Procurement ActGPA/10
Page 12
After acontract hasbeen awarded, thenational remedies procedures donotopen for
injunctions.
- Nullification ofacts anddecisions taken bytheprocuring entity inbreach ofthe
regulations. This typeofsanction does notallow re-opening ofprocurement procedures
after thecontract hasbeen awarded.
- Award ofdamages totheoffended supplier orsuppliers. The damages will not
necessarily belimited to"negative interest" (the costs and losses incurred by
participating intheaward procedure). Itisalso possible todemand thepositive interest
oratleast apartofitindamages (lost profit).
IntheUtilities sector, thesame applies with thefollowing special elements:
- Instead ofrapid interim measures thatstop anongoing procurement procedure, the
procuring entity may getaconditional finehigh enough todissuade theentity from
committing orcontinuing theactwhich isclaimed tobeinbreach oftherules.
- Inorder fordamages tobeadjudged, thecomplaining supplier hastoprove thathe
would have hadarealchance ofbeing awarded thecontract, hadthediscrimination
notoccurred.
14. Totheextent thatthisinformation does notfully respond tothefollowing points, please provide
thesupplementary information necessary todoso.
(i) Thetime-limit tolaunch acomplaint contained intheAgreement is"not lessthan
10days". What arethelimits indomestic legislation?
There arenospecial time limits inthearea ofpublic procurement.
(ii) What body isresponsible forthechallenge procedures? Isthisa"court" oran"impartial
andindependent review body"? Ifthelatter:
- How areitsmembers selected?
- Areitsdecisions subject tojudicial review?
- Ifnot,how aretherequirements ofparagraph 6ofArticle XXtaken into
account?
Acomplaint about formal faults inatendering procedure may bebrought before a
national Court ofJustice (PPA §3).
(iii) What istheapplicable lawbyreference towhich thechallenge body willexamine complaints?
ThePublic Procurement Act, theLaw Courts ActandtheCivil Dispute Act.GPA/10
Page 13
(iv) Which rapid interim measures areprovided tocorrect breaches oftheAgreement andtopreserve
commercial opportunities?
- Dothese measures include thepossibility tosuspend theprocurement process?
Onwhat conditions?
The supplier canaskforrapid interim measures (court injunctions) temporarily
suspending theprocurement procedure iftheinterests ofthecomplainant outweigh
thepublicinterestintheprocurementbeingexecutedwithoutdelaybeforetheconclusion
ofthecontract, PPA §4(nottheUtility sector).
Before theconclusion ofthecontract, thecourt mayalsoannul decisions taken during
theprocurement process, PPA §3(nottheUtility sector).
IntheUtilities sector theCourt mayinstead finetheprocuring entity with aconditional
finehigh enough todissuade theentity from committing orcontinuing theactwhich
isclaimed tobeabreach oftherules (PPA §4).
(v) How dochallenge procedures provide forcorrection oftheAgreement? What types of
compensation forlossordamages suffered canthechallenge body order?
Nosuch system isestablished, butthecourt may award damages totheoffended supplier if
there have been infringements oftheAct/Regulations.
(vi) Give anyavailable information onthetime periods forthestages ofthechallenge process,
including toobtain interim measures andafinal decision.
Thetime periods forthestages ofthechallenge process willdepend onthedifferent cases,
butacourt injunction ispossible togetalmost immediately (1-2 days).
(vii) What aretheusual costs toconduct achallenge procedure? Arethere possibilities foreseen
todosofreeofcharge?
Thecosts toconduct achallenge procedure vary. Thelegal feeisNOK 2,970 (theLegal Fee
Act§8),butinaddition tothatcome thecosts ofgetting legal counsel.
Itispossible togetlegal feeandlegal aidfreeofcharge, butonly under special conditions.
Inmost cases thecomplainant must cover theexpenses toconduct achallenge procedure.