Information

Tender reference number	JUST/2014/RCON/PR/CIVI/0082.
Title	An evaluation study of national procedural laws and practices in terms of their impact on the free circulation of judgments and on the equivalence and effectiveness of the procedural protection of consumers under EU consumer law.
Description	The study has 2 separate objectives:(1) to examine the impact of national procedural law on the free circulation of judgments by establishing whether and to what extent the existing divergences in national procedural rules hinder the realisation of the objective of a free circulation of judgments, in particular by undermining mutual trust between the justice systems of the Member States. The study should analyse this in the framework of the European instruments of civil justice, in the context of the further facilitation of recognition and enforcement and bearing in mind the fundamental right of access to justice and the right to fair trial.To this end, the study should analyse options for reinforcing mutual trust based on the above assessment, supported by legal and economic arguments, in the light of the policy objective of ensuring the smooth operation of existing instruments of judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters and any further reinforcement or intensification of this cooperation in view of creating a genuine European area of justice. The analysis and conclusions shall carefully weigh the pros and cons for each proposed solution;(2) to evaluate if and to what extent national procedural laws and practices ensure the procedural protection of EU consumer rights and whether these rules and practices satisfy requirements stemming from the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union ('CJEU') concerning the principles of effectiveness and equivalence and the obligation for an 'ex officio' assessment of compliance with EU consumer law.To this end, taking into account the principle of the procedural autonomy of the Member States the study should investigate national laws and practices, and gather all the necessary evidence concerning the procedural protection of EU consumer rights governing contracts. The study should pay particular attention to the relationship between different aspects of national procedures and evaluate them at different stages during the proceedings. In this context, the study should analyse whether national procedural systems satisfy the requirements of the CJEU's case law. Finally, the study should present conclusions from the assessment of national laws and practices, and develop options for reinforcing protection of EU consumer rights governing contracts. The analysis and conclusions should carefully weigh the pros and cons for each proposed solution.
Contract type	Services
Procedure type	Open procedure
Status	Closed
Published on TED
Submission Method	Electronic
Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)	Public contract
Address of the buyer profile: (URL)
Award method	N/A

Conditions for participation

Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers	See tender specifications.
Economic and financial ability - information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met	In order to prove their economic and financial capacity, the tenderers (i.e. in case of joint tender, the combined capacity of all members of the consortium and identified subcontractors) must show that their annual consolidated turnover exceeds 300 000 EUR (average for the past 3 years).The following evidence should be provided:— the completed 'Simplified balance sheet' and 'Simplified profit & loss account' completed for the last 3 years (Annex 2 must be completed),— a copy of the profit & loss account and balance sheet for the last 3 years for which accounts have been closed,— failing that, appropriate statements from banks,— if applicable, evidence of professional risk indemnity insurance.If, for some exceptional reason which the contracting authority considers justified, a tenderer is unable to provide one or other of the above documents, he or she may prove his or her economic and financial capacity by any other document which the contracting authority considers appropriate. In any case, the contracting authority must at least be notified of the exceptional reason and its justification in the tender. The Commission reserves the right to request any other document enabling it to verify the tenderer's economic and financial capacity.
Economic and financial ability - Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required	See above.
Technical capacity - information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met	a. Criteria relating to tenderers:Tenderers (in case of a joint tender the combined capacity of all tenderers and identified subcontractors) must comply with the following criteria:— the tenderer must prove experience in the field of consumer law and civil procedural law, as well as in European private international and procedural law,— the tenderer must prove experience of working in official languages of all 28 Member States,— the tenderer must prove capacity to draft reports in English and French,— the tenderer must prove experience in survey techniques, data collection, statistical analyses and drafting reports and recommendations.b. Criteria relating to the team delivering the service:The team delivering the service should include, as a minimum, the following profiles:Project manager: at least 5 years of experience in project management, including overseeing project delivery, quality control of delivered service, client orientation and conflict resolution experience in projects of a similar scope, with experience in the management of a team of at least 10 people.Language quality check: at least 1 member of the team should have native-level language skills in English.Experts in consumer law, civil procedural law and private international law: in the offer, the contractor should propose a team of experts capable of undertaking this complex legal analysis. Proposed experts should have university degrees and at least 5 years of legal experience. The team should include experts with relevant experience in consumer law, civil procedure (including European procedures) and in private international law, as well as an extensive knowledge of the national legal systems of the Member States they will analyse.Team for data collection and analysis: the team should consist of researchers with a university degree and at least 2 years' experience in collecting and analysing legal data.A proven collective knowledge of all EU official languages.If several service providers/subcontractors are involved in the bid, they must jointly have the professional and technical capacity to perform the tasks assigned to them.c. Evidence:The following evidence should be provided to fulfil the above criteria:1. tenderers should provide with their offer detailed curriculum vitae of each staff member responsible for carrying out the work, including his or her educational background, degrees and diplomas, professional experience, research work, publications and linguistic skills. The CVs shall be presented, preferably, in accordance with the Commission Recommendation of 11.3.2002 on a common European format for curricula vitae (CVs), published in OJ L 79 of 22.3.2002, p. 66;2. a list of the principal services of the same type provided in the past 5 years, with the sums, dates and recipients, whether public or private, of the services provided, together with certificates issued or countersigned by public authorities or by private clients or, failing this, simply declared by the service provider to have been effected;3. part of the contract which the service provider intends to subcontract.
Technical capacity - Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required	See above.

Milestones

TED publication date	02/06/2015 00:00
Time limit for receipt of requests for documents or accessing documents	25/08/2015 23:59
Question deadline	N/A
Answer deadline	N/A
Time limit for receipt of tenders	01/09/2015 12:00
Conditions for opening tenders (date)	08/09/2015 10:30

Lots

The call for tenders has no lots.

Notices

Reference	Notice type	Publication date
2015/S 104-188196	Contract notice	02/06/2015 00:00