62020TJ0404_INF
Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 6 October 2021 –Global Translation Solutions v Commission
(Case T‑404/20)
(Public service contracts – Tendering procedure – Translation services – Rejection of a tenderer’s bid – Award of the contract to another tenderer – Award criteria – Method of evaluation – Manifest error of assessment – Equal treatment – Transparency – Obligation to state reasons – Duty of diligence – Principle of sound administration)
1.
Judicial proceedings – Application initiating proceedings – Formal requirements – Identification of the subject matter of the dispute – Summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based – Unambiguous wording of the form of order sought by the applicant – Requirement not met – Inadmissibility
(Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 21, first para., and 53, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 76(d) and (e))
(see paras 25-27)
2.
European Union public contracts – Conclusion of a contract following a call for tenders – Discretion of the institutions – Judicial review – Limits
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Art. 166(2))
(see para. 42)
3.
Judicial proceedings – Application initiating proceedings – Formal requirements – No summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based – Inadmissibility
(Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 21, first para., and 53, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 76(d))
(see para. 62)
4.
European Union public contracts – Tendering procedure – Duty to observe the principles of equal treatment of tenderers and transparency – Scope – Obligation to formulate clearly, precisely and unequivocally the conditions and procedures for awarding the contract
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Arts 160(1) and 166(2))
(see paras 76-79)
5.
European Union public contracts – Tendering procedure – Award of contracts – Most economically advantageous tender – Award criteria – Observance of the principles of equal treatment of tenderers and transparency – Obligation to establish a weighting for the sub-criteria of award criteria provided for in the tender specifications or contract notice
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Arts 160(1) and 166(2))
(see para. 80)
6.
European Union public contracts – Tendering procedure – Duty to observe the principles of equal treatment of tenderers and transparency – Scope – No obligation, before the submission of tenders, to communicate the assessment method of the awarding authority
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Arts 160(1) and 166(2))
(see paras 81, 82, 91)
7.
European Union public contracts – Tendering procedure – Award of contracts – Award criteria – Method of assessment – Discretion of the awarding authority
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Art. 166(2))
(see paras 83, 84)
8.
Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – Decision, in the procedure for the award of a public service contract, not to accept a tender – Assessment having regard to the information at the applicant’s disposal at the time the action was brought – Information provided to the applicant not clearly showing the reasons for rejecting the tender and not sufficiently explaining the characteristics and advantages of the tender accepted – Obligation to communicate, following a written request, the characteristics and relative advantages of the tender accepted and the name of the tenderer – No obligation on the awarding authority to provide a detailed comparative analysis of the tender accepted and the tender of the unsuccessful tenderer – Sufficient statement of reasons
(Art. 296 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Art. 170(2) and (3)(a) and Annex I, point 31.1)
(see paras 108-110)
9.
Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – Decision, in the procedure for the award of a public service contract, not to accept a tender – Assessment having regard to the information at the applicant’s disposal at the time the action was brought
(Art. 296 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Art. 170(2) and (3)(a) and Annex I, point 31.1)
(see para. 111)
10.
Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – Decision, in the procedure for the award of a public service contract, not to accept a tender – No obligation on the awarding authority to provide a detailed comparative analysis of the tender accepted and the tender of the unsuccessful tenderer
(Art. 296, second para. TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Art. 170(2) and (3)(a) and Annex I, point 31.1)
(see para. 126)
11.
EU law – Principles – Principle of sound administration – Duty of diligence – Scope
(Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41)
(see para. 133)
Re:
Application under Article 263 TFEU for annulment of the Commission’s decision contained in the letter of 17 April 2020 rejecting the tender submitted by the applicant for Lot 22 (EN>MT) in tendering procedure TRAD 19 and awarding that lot to another tenderer, and for annulment of ‘all related decisions’.
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Dismisses the action;
2.
Orders Global Translation Solutions ltd. to pay the costs.