One of Armenia’s major companies was included, by order of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, on the list of participants prohibited from participating in procurement procedures. The company’s interests before the court were represented by Marine Hovhannisyan, Attorney and Chief Legal Adviser at «AM» Law Firm. The Court of First Instance dismissed the company’s claim, finding that the company had breached an obligation undertaken in the course of the procurement process, which served as the basis for its inclusion on the relevant list.
Disagreeing with the court’s findings, Marine Hovhannisyan filed an appeal, arguing that the decision of the Court of First Instance was inconsistent with the applicable legal provisions and the factual circumstances of the case. The Court of Appeal overturned the first-instance judgment and declared invalid the order to include the company in the list of participants not entitled to participate in procurement procedures. Having assessed the arguments and evidence presented in the case, the Court held that the company’s offer of a product that differed from the technical specifications of the product specified in the tender invitation could not be considered a non-compliance of the bid.
According to the Court, this concerned an alternative offer addressed to the client, which the participant was not legally prohibited from submitting. Another significant outcome of the case was the separate opinion of one of the judges of the Court of Appeal, according to which the invalidity of the order was, in essence, conditioned by the legal arguments presented in the appeal. This case once again demonstrates that the effectiveness of judicial protection depends not only on the proper application of legal norms, but also on the comprehensive assessment and interplay of the facts of the case, the evidence, and the legal arguments.
«AM» Law Firm will continue to consistently protect the rights and legitimate interests of its clients by developing an individual defense strategy for each case based on its specific facts and legal grounds.
