American Chamber of Commerce in Romania

bpv GRIGORESCU ªTEFÃNICÃ obtained a favorable award from the National Dispute Settlement Council (C.N.S.C.) for Romprest Servicii Integrate in the dispute of this company with Societatea Nationala de Transport Feroviar Calatori (S.N.T.C.F.) “CFR Calatori” S.A. – Regionala de Transport Feroviar de Calatori Muntenia (currently, Regionala de Transport Feroviar de Calatori Muntenia – “R.T.F.C. Muntenia”). Being binding upon the parties to the dispute, the decision provides for the cancellation of the public procurement procedure and of the participation announcement no. 131890/9.12.2011.

The lawyers of bpv GRIGORESCU ªTEFÃNICÃ, challenged, on behalf of Romprest Servicii Integrate, the public procurement procedure carried-out by R.T.F.C. Muntenia, as contracting authority, to award a services agreement covering “Sanitation of passenger cars in Grivita Overhaul Facility of Bucharest”. The action challenged the necessity and legality of the participation announcement no. 131890/9.12.2011, given that all the services thus required are already included in the package of services the buyer already awarded to Romprest Servicii Integrate, through a services agreement effective until 2015.

Whereas the object of the agreement to be awarded, following the new public procurement procedure, consists of “capital, regular, current and interim sanitation services for the passenger cars in Grivita Overhaul Facility of Bucharest”, C.N.S.C. concluded that, currently, the contracting authority is, in fact, performing simultaneously both a services agreement, completed in part, and a new award procedure, in the form of an open tender, both having the same purpose, namely provision of sanitation services for passenger cars. On the grounds of the Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) no. 34/2006, C.N.S.C. ruled in favor of the com-plaint lodged by Romprest Servicii Integrate, finding that, as a matter of principle, no contracting authority/buyer may initiate a new public procurement procedure if, at the same time, it is party to other agreements having the same scope (the same services, goods or works), and consequently decided on the cancellation of the procedure initiated by publication of the participation announcement no. 131890/9.12.2011.

The team of bpv GRIGORESCU ªTEFÃNICÃ was led by partner Daniel Stefanica, head of the firm’s Dispute Resolution practice, and included associate lawyer Alberto Vaduva.