For public procurement at the Council of State, there's only one track — emergency suspension, nothing else
The Council of State rejects Niezen Traffic's suspension request against a €5,541 radar contract from the Brunehaut municipality because it was filed under the 'ordinary' procedure, while public procurement only allows the emergency suspension procedure.
What happened?
On 20 October 2014 the Brunehaut municipal college decided to buy two mobile solar speed-warning radars via negotiated procedure without publication. Three firms were invited: KRYCER, NIEZEN TRAFFIC and HERPHELIN. On 5 November 2014 two offered: KRYCER for €5,541.80 incl. VAT, Niezen for €6,347.66. On 17 November Brunehaut awarded to KRYCER. Niezen was notified on 19 November, requested the analysis report (received 27 November), and on 3 December asked about EN12966 compliance. Brunehaut confirmed on 13 January 2015. On 16 January 2015 — nearly two months after the award decision — Niezen filed a 'petition for suspension and annulment via the ordinary procedure'. That's where it went wrong. For below-EU-threshold procurements, article 28 ff. of the Act of 17 June 2013 applies, which via article 31 refers to article 15. Combined with article 24, the rule is crystal clear: for public procurement the Council of State can only be seized via the emergency suspension procedure. An ordinary suspension request is simply inadmissible. The Council even refuses to reclassify the request as emergency — the title contains no indication in that direction. Application dismissed, end of story. Niezen Traffic never got a substantive review.
Why does this matter?
Many companies (and their lawyers) still assume the 'ordinary' suspension procedure is always available. For public procurement it isn't: only emergency suspension. That has three heavy consequences: (1) you must prove 'extreme urgency' (in practice: 15-day deadline from notification), (2) the procedure is faster but less developed evidence-wise, (3) if you pick the wrong track, no second chance — you're declared inadmissible without substantive review.
The lesson
If you want to challenge an award decision, immediately pick the right track: emergency suspension at the Council of State (if the contracting authority is an administrative authority) or summary proceedings before the ordinary court. The 'ordinary' suspension procedure doesn't exist for public procurement — use it and your appeal is inadmissible.
Ask yourself
Before filing a suspension request: does the title of your petition explicitly say 'extrême urgence' / 'extreme urgency'? If not, redo your file — no after-the-fact reclassification.
About this database
The Council of State (Raad van State / Conseil d'État) is Belgium's supreme administrative court. In disputes over public procurement — from contract awards to tenderer exclusions — the Council of State is the final arbiter. The rulings in this database are summarised by TenderWolf in plain language, with practical lessons for tenderers and contracting authorities. View all rulings →