Council of State rejects annulment appeal against non-selection of combination for artificial turf renovation – each member must individually hold required ISO and VCA certificates for the part it executes
The Council of State rejected the annulment appeal by the Scheerlinck Sport – Canalco combination against their non-selection for the renovation of an artificial football pitch in Sint-Niklaas, because ISO 9001 and VCA certificates relate to the entire operation of a company and each member of a combination executing part of the contract must hold them — the first applicant, which would execute half the works but lacked the certificates, could not rely on its partner's certificates.
What happened?
The city of Sint-Niklaas tendered a public works contract through an open procedure for the renovation of artificial football pitch F at the Meesterstraat sports centre. Price was the sole award criterion. The specifications required 'the tenderer' to provide ISO 9001 and VCA certificates. Four tenders were submitted, including by the Scheerlinck Sport – Canalco combination and SportInfraBouw. The combination submitted certificates issued to Canalco only. The assessment report found the temporary partnership did not meet the qualitative selection requirements: ISO and VCA certificates were missing for one partner (Scheerlinck Sport). The contract was awarded to SportInfraBouw. The Council held that ISO 9001 and VCA certificates relate to the entire operation of the company (quality management and safety management respectively) and constitute professional qualifications under Article 68 §4(6°) of the 2017 Royal Decree. Under Article 73 §1 of that decree, a combination may only rely on a member's professional qualifications if that member will actually execute the works requiring those qualifications. Since Scheerlinck Sport would execute half the works but lacked the certificates, the combination could not rely on Canalco's certificates. The appeal was rejected.
Why does this matter?
This ruling clarifies how ISO and VCA certificate requirements apply to combinations of companies. These certificates relate to the entire operation of a company and are therefore professional qualifications under Article 68 §4(6°) of the 2017 Royal Decree. Under Article 73 §1, a combination can only rely on a member's qualifications if that member will execute the works requiring them. Each member executing part of the works must therefore hold the certificates itself. The contracting authority need not state this explicitly in the specifications.
The lesson
ISO 9001 and VCA certificates are professional qualifications relating to a company's entire operation. Within a combination, each member executing part of the contract must hold these certificates — it is not sufficient for only one member to present them. This follows from Article 73 §1 of the 2017 Royal Decree and the nature of the certificates, and need not be stated explicitly in the specifications.
Ask yourself
As a combination: does each member that will execute part of the contract hold the required ISO and VCA certificates? Or am I wrongly assuming that my partner's certificates suffice for the entire combination? As a contracting authority: have I correctly applied the rule that professional qualifications must be demonstrated by each executing member when selecting combinations?
About this database
The Council of State (Raad van State / Conseil d'État) is Belgium's supreme administrative court. In disputes over public procurement — from contract awards to tenderer exclusions — the Council of State is the final arbiter. The rulings in this database are summarised by TenderWolf in plain language, with practical lessons for tenderers and contracting authorities. View all rulings →