Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 15 May 2003 in Case C-214/00: Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive 89/665/EEC — Review procedures in public procurement — Transposition — "Contracting authority" — Public law body — Reviewable acts — Interim measures)
Date: 2003-07-05
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Spain, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, award of contract, public contract

C 158/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

5.7.2003

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Sixth Chamber)

of 15 May 2003

in Case C-214/00: Commission of the European Communi-
ties v Kingdom of Spain (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive
89/665/EEC — Review procedures in public procurement —
Transposition — ‘Contracting authority’ — Public law body
— Reviewable acts — Interim measures)

(2003/C 158/02)

— allow review to be sought of all decisions adopted by the
contracting
procedural
measures, during the procedure for the award of public
contracts; and

authorities,

including

all

— provide for the possibility of all appropriate interim
measures being granted in relation to decisions adopted
by the contracting authorities, including measures sus-
pending administrative decisions, removing for that pur-
pose all difficulties and obstacles and in particular the
need first to bring an action against the decision of the
contracting authority,

the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under
Community law, the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of: R.
Schintgen, acting as the President of the Sixth Chamber, V.
Skouris (Rapporteur), F. Macken, N. Colneric, and J. N. Cunha
Rodrigues, Judges; P. Léger, Advocate General; L. Hewlett,
Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, gave a judgment on
15 May 2003, the operative part of which is as follows:

(Language of the case: Spanish)

1.

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
in the European Court Reports)

By failing to adopt the measures necessary to comply with
Articles 1 and 2 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, as amended by Council Directive 92/50/EEC
of 18 June 1992 relating to the coordination of procedures for
the award of public service contracts, and in particular:

— by failing to extend the system of review procedures
provided for by that directive to decisions adopted by
companies governed by private law set up specifically to
meet needs in the general interest which are not of an
industrial or commercial character, have legal personality,
and whose business is for the most part financed by the
public authorities or other bodies governed by public law,
or those whose operations are subject to supervision by
the latter, or whose administrative, management or
supervisory body is made up of members of whom more
than one-half are appointed by the public authorities or
other bodies governed by public law;

— by subjecting, as a general

rule,

the possibility of
appropriate interim measures being granted in relation to
decisions adopted by the contracting authorities to the
requirement that an action must first be brought against
the decision of the contracting authority, the Kingdom of
Spain has failed to fulfil
its obligations under that
directive.

2.

3.

.The remainder of the application is dismissed.

.The Commission of the European Communities is ordered to
bear one third of the costs and the Kingdom of Spain is ordered
to pay two thirds of the costs.

(1) OJ C 211 of 22.7.2000.

In Case C-214/00: Commission of the European Communities
(Agent: G. Valero Jordana) v Kingdom of Spain (Agent: S. Ortiz
Vaamonde) — application for a declaration that, by failing to
adopt the measures necessary to comply with Articles 1 and 2
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 of 18 June 1992 relating to the coordination of procedures
for the award of public service contracts (OJ 1992 L 209, p. 1),
and in particular by failing to:

— extend the system of review procedures provided for by
that directive to decisions adopted by all contracting
authorities, within the meaning of Article 1(b) of Direc-
tives 92/50, Council Directive 93/36/EEC of 14 June
1993 coordinating procedures for the award of public
supply contracts (OJ 1993 L 199, p. 54) and Council
Directive 93/37/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning the
coordination of procedures for the award of public works
contracts (OJ 1993 L 199, p. 54), including companies
governed by private law set up specifically to meet needs
in the general interest which are not of an industrial or
commercial character, have legal personality, and whose
business is for the most part financed by the public
authorities or other bodies governed by public law, or
those whose operations are subject to supervision by
the latter, or whose administrative, management or
supervisory body is made up of members of whom more
than one-half are appointed by the public authorities or
other bodies governed by public law;