The case concerns a procured framework that has been transferred to a new contractor after the initial contractor has been declared bankrupt. A replacement of a contractor can be permitted without the need of a new procurement, if the new contractor has succeeded to that initial contractor following corporate restructuring. The question in the case was whether these conditions were met already by the fact that the new contractor had taken over the initial contractor’s rights and obligations in accordance with the framework agreement.
After obtaining a preliminary ruling from the European Court of Justice the court concluded that a new contractor who has taken over only the initial contractor’s rights and obligations in accordance with a framework agreement must be regarded as having succeeded to that initial contractor where the taking over is a result of the initial contractor’s bankruptcy.
Read the judgment here: