Public contracts – Rejection of a suspension of proceedings on the grounds of the harmful consequences for the contracting authority

This court order is interesting in that it is usually only from the point of view of the prejudice caused to the ousted tenderer that such a stay may – or may not – be ordered.

In this case, the judge weighed up the interests at stake – both for the unsuccessful tenderer and for the contracting authority – and concluded that, while the applicant’s arguments were not without merit at first sight, the disadvantages of suspending the signing of a contract that was part of the EU’s space programme far outweighed the advantages for the unsuccessful tenderer, who could, if necessary, obtain compensation for his loss (which was much less than the potential damage to the contracting authority) by going to court.

This decision highlights the many hurdles that must be overcome in order to obtain a suspension of an award decision, the conditions being/becoming particularly draconian.