Ask the base amount, get the base amount — a €700 case wrapped up in twelve weeks
Intermédiance & Partners files an extreme-urgency suspension against Momignies' award of a bailiff services contract to an individual; the municipality withdraws within two weeks, and the Council grants exactly the €700 indemnity the applicant requested without discussion.
What happened?
On 30 March 2018 Intermédiance & Partners filed an extreme-urgency suspension against the 14 February 2018 decision of the Momignies college of mayor and aldermen awarding a bailiff services contract to Jean-Pierre Bruynooghe (rue du Peuple 4, 7370 Dour) as the most economically advantageous offer on best price-quality ratio. The hearing was first set for 17 April 2018 and postponed sine die by letters of 16 April 2018. On 12 April 2018 — less than two weeks after the UDN action — Momignies took a withdrawal decision, notified to all bidders by registered mail received on 19 April 2018. The letters mentioned the appeal procedures and time limits cleanly. No bidder — including Bruynooghe — sought annulment of the withdrawal within the period, making it final and the UDN action moot. On 19 December 2018 the case was finally heard by the Sixth Chamber chaired by Imre Kovalovszky. The procedural indemnity was not contested: Intermédiance asked €700 — exactly the base amount, with no request for an increase, no shot at the €2,800 maximum. The municipality invoked nothing to reduce. The Council applied the routine: the withdrawal is a 'succedaneum' for annulment (article 30/1), Momignies is the losing party. Intermédiance gets €700, plus a €20 contribution (article 66, 6° procedure regulation) and €200 in other costs — all on Momignies. First auditor Laurent Jans gave a conforming opinion. Decision: closed in a single sentence.
Why does this matter?
Three cases on the same hearing day — 243456, 243457 and 243459 — together show how routinely the Council handles withdrawals by contracting authorities. Whoever asks the base amount gets the base amount. Whoever wants more must really substantiate (see 243456). For applicants in procurement disputes this is a sober signal: the financial reward against a contracting authority who withdraws after a UDN action is limited. €700 procedural indemnity plus other costs (€200 to €400). That rarely covers actual lawyer fees. But the real win of a UDN action is not the indemnity — it is the withdrawal itself, which undoes the contested award and resets the contract. The timing here is illustrative too. UDN filed 30 March 2018, withdrawal on 12 April 2018 — twelve days. Contracting authorities who cannot defend their decision do well to withdraw quickly: the UDN forces such a fast reassessment, and the faster you withdraw the lower the cost and time pressure.
The lesson
As an applicant in a UDN case where the contracting authority withdraws: ask the amount you can realistically substantiate. €700 is standard, €2,800 maximum only with concrete elements (complexity, scale, conduct). As a contracting authority unable to defend your decision: withdraw quickly. Twelve days is the tempo here, and it limits both procedural costs and execution damages.
Ask yourself
You are a municipality or contracting authority and your award decision is hit by a UDN action. How many days between the filing and your withdrawal? In this case: twelve. The faster, the less cost and the faster the procedure restarts.
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 →