Case C‑413/17

Proceedings brought by ‘Roche Lietuva’ UAB

(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Lietuvos Aukščiausiasis Teismas)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Public supply contract for medical diagnostic equipment and materials — Directive 2014/24/EU — Article 42 — Award — Margin of appreciation of the contracting authority — Detailed formulation of the technical specifications)

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber), 25 October 2018

1. Approximation of laws — Procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts — Directive 2004/18 — Temporal application — Decision of the contracting authority choosing the type of procedure to be followed for the award of a contract adopted after that directive was repealed — Inapplicability of the directive

   (European Parliament and Council Directives 2004/18 and 2014/24, Art. 91, first para.)

2. Questions referred for a preliminary ruling — Jurisdiction of the Court — Limits — General or hypothetical questions — Questions relating to a terminated procurement procedure — Remaining interest in the resolution of the dispute established by the referring court — Absence of hypothetical nature — Admissibility

   (Art. 267 TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Art. 94)

3. Approximation of laws — Procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts — Directive 2014/24 — Laying down technical specifications — Discretion of the awarding authority — Limits — Respect for the principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination and transparency — Detailed formulation of the technical specifications — Requirement to add the words ‘or equivalent’ after the designation of a particular product

   (European Parliament and Council Directive 2014/24, Art. 42)

4. Approximation of laws — Procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts — Directive 2014/24 — Laying down technical specifications — Public procurement contract for the acquisition of medical supplies — Requirement to prioritise the importance of the individual characteristics of the medical supplies or the result of their functioning — No such requirement — Obligation to respect the principles of equal treatment and proportionality

   (European Parliament and Council Directives 2014/24, Arts 18 and 42)

1.  See the text of the decision.

   (see para. 18)

2.  See the text of the decision.

   (see paras 23, 24)

3.  See the text of the decision.

   (see paras 29-32, 34, 37-39)

4.  Articles 18 and 42 of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18 must be interpreted as not imposing on the contracting authority, in establishing technical specifications in a procurement procedure concerning the acquisition of medical supplies, an obligation to prioritise, in principle, either the importance of the individual characteristics of the medical supplies or the importance of the result of their functioning, but requiring that the technical specifications, as a whole, comply with the principles of equality of treatment and proportionality. It is for the national court to assess whether, in the dispute before it, the technical specifications at issue comply with those requirements.

   (see para. 45, operative part)