The Use of Hyperlinks in Tenders: Instituto Cervantes v Commission (T-376/21)

This note concerns a judgment of the General Court of the European Union which deals with a very practical issue, namely the use of hyperlinks in tenders. In accordance with the framework outlined by the Court of Justice in, for example, Manova, the General Court concluded that the Commission had not been under an obligation to consider information in a tender only accessible via a hyperlink. Further, the Commission had not been obliged to request the tenderer to supplement the tender by submitting the information in another format. It was decisive for the General Court that the information at the website that could be accessed via the link was under the tenderer’s control and could therefore be amended after the deadline for submission of tenders. The judgment also seems to be relevant for contracting authorities and tenderers participating in tenders in the Member States.