Standstill period
The standstill period is the mandatory period between notification of the award decision and conclusion of the contract. This period gives disadvantaged tenderers the opportunity to file a suspension application.
De Havilland knew about the award in early January but waited a month too long — UDN claim time-barred
The Council of State rejects De Havilland's suspension request against the 'Green Aircraft' defence contract awarded to the Sabena/Sonaca consortium, because De Havilland had sufficient knowledge of the award decision by 6 January 2026 but only filed on 5 February — too late.
Wanneer de aanbestedende overheid de bestreden gunningsbeslissing intrekt, verliest de verzoeker zijn belang bij de schorsingsvordering — maar de kosten vallen ten laste van de overheid
De Raad van State verwerpt de vordering tot schorsing van de gunning van een overheidsopdracht voor communicatiediensten voor Brugel als onontvankelijk, omdat de aanbestedende overheid de bestreden gunningsbeslissing heeft ingetrokken met terugwerkende kracht, zodat de verzoeker niet langer benadeeld is of dreigt te worden — maar de procedurekosten worden ten laste van de overheid gelegd, die door de intrekking als de in het ongelijk gestelde partij wordt beschouwd.
Whoever obtains a suspension but then files no annulment action loses that protection automatically — and owes the other side's procedural indemnity
The Council of State lifts the suspension earlier obtained by Jardiparc: Devillers did not file an annulment petition within the statutory deadline, so the law automatically removes the suspension — and the respondent, now regarded as the winning party, collects the €770 procedural indemnity.
Signing a contract before the supervisory deadline expires: the risk that your decision still gets annulled is on you
The Council of State rejects the suspension claim of BEP against the Walloon minister's annulment of its temporary staffing contract because BEP itself signed the contract with Randstad before the supervisory deadline had expired — the alleged harms therefore do not flow directly from the challenged annulment, but from their own choice to take the risk.
An unreasoned notification is not an unreasoned decision — and that distinction sinks your appeal
The Council of State dismisses an appeal against the cancellation of a vehicle-towing tender because the contested decision itself was formally reasoned, even though the bidder only saw those reasons four months later — a tardiness that costs the police zone the procedural costs but does not affect the legality of the decision.
A retracted award does not reset your UDN clock: you have 15 days for the replacement decision — not one more
The Council of State declares ARAMIS's extension of its extreme-urgency action to the replacement award decision of 21 October 2023 inadmissible due to lateness (filed on day 18 whereas article 23 of the 17 June 2013 act allows only 15 days), and shelves the case sine die regarding the retracted original decision of 13 October 2023.
Waiting for the full evaluation report does not stop the suspension clock from running
The Council of State dismisses as out of time an extreme-urgency suspension against the designation of a preferred bidder in a PPP negotiation procedure: the fifteen-day period had already started to run on 27 November 2017, even though the temporary partnership only obtained the complete evaluation report on 16 January 2018.
Contracting authority withdraws its award after the Council suspends? The case becomes moot — and you still pay 700 euros in procedural costs
After a suspension order against the award of a lot for legal recovery services, ORES Assets and RESA withdrew their award decisions; the Council of State declares the annulment action moot, lifts the suspension, but charges the procedural costs to the contracting authorities.
A case ending without object still costs 700 euros — and when there are multiple applicants, there are clear rules for splitting the indemnity
On the same day and in the same context as arrest 236.111, ORES Assets and RESA also withdrew their award decision for lot 8 (Mons); the Council of State declares the action moot, but explains how the procedural indemnity is shared among four jointly-filing applicants.
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This page shows all rulings of the Council of State (Belgium's supreme administrative court) on standstill period in public procurement. Each ruling is summarized by TenderWolf in plain language, with a legal lesson and a practical question to ask yourself. View all rulings →