The Court of Justice of the European Union has issued a clarification in a case still pending before Lithuanian courts concerning the construction project of Lazdynai swimming pool in Vilnius municipality. The clarification on the conditions for blacklisting companies is particularly relevant and favourable for business.
The Court of Justice noted that the inclusion of each partner of a consortium in the List of Unreliable Suppliers published by the Public Procurement Service must be decided on an individual basis, taking into account the role of each partner and the degree of responsibility for the failure of the partners to perform the public procurement contract. If it is established that the non-performance of the procurement contract is due to the actions of only one partner of the consortium, there is no reason to automatically include the other members in the List of Unreliable Suppliers or to significantly restrict their participation in other public procurements, even for a period of three years.
On 11 November 2021, the Supreme Court of Lithuania stated that Vilnius City Municipality had lawfully terminated the Lazdynai swimming pool contract with Active construction management (formerly Irdaiva), a construction company in liquidation due to bankruptcy, and its partners. However, the case remains unresolved as regards the continued reliability of the remaining consortium members, among which is the client we are representing, represented client HSC Baltic, and their inclusion in the List of Unreliable Suppliers.
In the light of the recent clarifications from the Court of Justice and the facts of the case, there are strong grounds to consider that the remaining partners should not be included in the List of Unreliable Suppliers. Therefore, companies that participate in public procurement together their joint venture partners will now be safer.
Our team representing the client
Our client HSC Baltic is represented by partner Laurynas Lukošiūnas and senior associate Žilvinas Briedis.
