10 Nov 2009 4:29 PM |
Posted by Beresford-Jones, Jenny
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In the recent case of Deane Public Works Ltd v Northern Ireland Water, the High Court in Northern Ireland ruled that a contracting authority was entitled to exclude a bidder who filled in a PQQ with details of experience that was older than that which had been requested by the contracting authority.
Northern Ireland Water simply excluded this bidder, without attempting to clarify. At the same same time it did clarify two points with two other bidders, both of which were manifest errors rather than information about an out-of-date project.
The court held that the public body was right not to obtain clarification from the offending bidder – because to do so would have constituted an infringement of the principle of equal treatment.