The European corporate law firm GSK Stockmann successfully represented Bremen-based OHB System AG in appeal proceedings before the European Court of Justice concerning the award of the contract for new EU satellites. The ECJ has referred the case back to the General Court.
A GSK Stockmann team led by Munich partner Wolfgang Würfel successfully represented OHB System AG in appeal proceedings before the ECJ in case C-415/23 P, OHB System v Commission. The European General Court had previously dismissed OHB’s action seeking the annulment of the Commission’s contract award decision.
OHB System AG is one of Europe’s leading space technology companies. The system provider is part of OHB SE, a listed high-tech conglomerate with more than 3,000 highly qualified employees working on key European space programmes.
The proceedings concerned the tendering procedure for the second generation of the EU’s Galileo satellite programme. OHB had previously built the majority of the first-generation Galileo satellites. The new contract was for what are known as “transition satellites”, which are intended to initiate the transition to the second generation. OHB submitted a tender, but was not awarded the contract. The Bremen-based company appealed against the Commission’s decision to the General Court, arguing that its competitor Airbus had hired a former OHB executive who had taken sensitive information from OHB with him that could have given Airbus an unfair advantage in the procedure.
The General Court ruled that the Commission was not obliged to carry out a more detailed investigation into the allegations.
However, the ECJ has now clearly overruled this decision. The court noted that the Commission must ensure compliance with the principle of equal treatment at every stage of a tendering procedure. This means actively verifying whether there are any conflicts of interest and, if necessary, taking appropriate measures to prevent, detect and remedy them. The ECJ also clarified that such investigations should be triggered not only by direct evidence of an infringement of public procurement rules, but also on the basis of objective and consistent indications.
Advisers of OHB System AG at GSK Stockmann:
Dr Wolfgang Würfel (lead, litigation), Leonie Becker, Fabian Schiefner, Sören Wolkenhauer (all public procurement law), Eric Mayer (compliance)
