A won UDN suspension without follow-up is a lost UDN suspension
The Council of State lifts the previously ordered suspension of Lantis' selection decision because Proximus failed to file an annulment appeal within the statutory deadline — with reimbursement of procedural costs to the contracting authority as a consequence.
What happened?
On 4 October 2022, Lantis (Beheersmaatschappij Antwerpen Mobiel, the contracting authority for the Oosterweel project) selects five candidates for a framework agreement on ICT infrastructure and digital workplace services. Proximus is not among them. On 7 November 2022, Proximus files an extreme urgency suspension request (UDN) with the Council of State. Successfully: in judgment no. 255,232 of 9 December 2022, the selection decision is suspended. Proximus is provisionally back in. But then nothing happens. Belgian public procurement law is unforgiving on this point: a UDN suspension is a provisional measure. Whoever wins a suspension must, within the statutory deadline (usually 30 or 60 days after notification), also file a formal annulment appeal to confirm the suspension up to a final annulment judgment. If the applicant fails to do so, the Council of State must, under Article 17, §4, third paragraph of the coordinated laws, lift the suspension as a matter of law. Proximus never files that annulment appeal. At the end of August 2023, the president of the XIIth chamber proposes a written procedure; none of the parties requests a hearing. On 26 October 2023, the Council of State draws the conclusion: the suspension is lifted, and Proximus must bear the procedural costs itself — 200 euros in registration fees, 24 euros in contribution, and 770 euros in procedural indemnity to Lantis. The selection decision of 4 October 2022 stands again.
Why does this matter?
UDN is the only way for many bidders to intervene quickly when a contract award decision wrongly passes them by. But a UDN suspension is not a final ruling — it buys time, nothing more. Companies that win at the UDN stage sometimes think the matter is over, or enter into negotiations with the contracting authority and forget the annulment deadline. The result: months later the suspension still falls away, and on top of that you have to pay the costs yourself. For bid managers, this is a pure calendar management issue that must immediately be locked into every UDN procedure.
The lesson
If you have obtained a UDN suspension: set a deadline for the annulment appeal in your calendar that same day. Agree with your lawyer who monitors the deadline. A suspension without an annulment appeal disappears automatically — and you pay the opposing party's procedural costs.
Ask yourself
After a UDN suspension, did I file an annulment petition within the statutory deadline? If not: is there a deliberate reason not to do so, and have I documented that consideration in writing?
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 →