Clifford Chance

Un-boxxed— UK Ministry of Justice gets the greenlight to award public contract following successful application to lift an automatic suspension (Boxxe Ltd v UK Secretary of State for Justice)

3 May 2023

UK public procurement law case analysis by Andrew Dean and Alex Hough.

The Secretary of State for Justice (SoSJ) made an application to the court pursuant to regulation 96(1)(a) of the UK Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), to lift an automatic suspension of the award of a call-off contract, following a challenge by an unsuccessful tenderer, Boxxe Ltd. Mr Justice Constable in the High Court granted the application to lift the automatic suspension. The case provides useful guidance on the application of PCR 2015, reg 96(1)(a), following a number of decisions dealing with the issue. The case also highlights the current lack of clarity in the interpretation of the proper calculation of the 30-day limitation period for bringing a procurement challenge under PCR 2015, reg 92.

This article was first published by Lexis®PSL on 26 April 2023. Andrew is a member of Lexis Nexis PSL's procurement and public law expert panels.

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