Single Party Framework Agreement for Legal Services

Additional information

To receive more information about this tender, including any amendments and/or clarifications and to request any clarifications and/or to respond to this tender, you must register your interest to this tender on the following site: https://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_s.asp?PID=77477&B=ETENDERS_SIMPLE

— The fact of this notice being published should under no circumstances be taken as implying that any provisions other than those expressly contained in Directive 2004/18/EC for Annex IIB Services will apply to this award procedure.

— As the subject matter of this framework agreement is a non-priority (Annex IIB) service, the establishment of the framework is not subject to the provisions of Directive 2004/18/EC with regard to the choice of procedure. Therefore, the awarding authority will employ a negotiated procedure under its own terms and conditions.

— Interested parties must register their interest on the etenders website (www.etenders.gov.ie) in order to be included on the mailing list for clarifications. All information relating to attachments, including clarifications and changes will be published on the Irish Government procurement opportunities portal (www.etenders.gov.ie) only. Registration is free of charge.

— This is the sole call for competition for this service.

— The contracting authority will not be responsible for any costs, charges or expenses incurred by candidates or tenderers.

— The tender list will be limited to the top 5 candidates assessed under the rules of qualification.

— Contract award will be subject to the approval of the competent authorities. Following the establishment of the framework agreement, the framework operator will be awarded an initial contract for a period of 1 year only. Any further contract(s) awarded under the framework agreement will be at the absolute discretion of the contracting authority, which alternatively may opt to cancel the framework agreement after the initial contract or at any time thereafter.

— It will be a condition for admittance to the framework agreement that tenderers and their sub-contractors (if any) produce a valid tax clearance certificate from the Irish revenue commissioners and that they retain a fully valid certificate throughout the lifetime of the framework and of contracts awarded under the framework.

— Admittance to the framework will also be conditional upon formal written acceptance of the Framework Terms and Conditions.

— If for any reason it is not possible to admit the successful tenderer to the framework agreement following the conclusion of the competitive process, the contracting authority reserves the right to admit the next highest scoring tenderer to the framework agreement during the period of validity of tenders. This shall be without prejudice to the right of the contracting authority to cancel this competitive process and/or initiate a new contract award procedure at its sole discretion.

— If having entered into a framework agreement as a result of this competitive process, the Contracting Authority deems that the successful tenderer has failed to deliver the required services, the Contracting Authority reserves the right to award the framework agreement to the next highest scoring tenderer identified through the evaluation of tender submissions. This shall be without prejudice to the right of the Contracting Authority to terminate this competitive process at any time or to terminate any framework awarded as a result of this competition.

— Notwithstanding the existence of the framework, the contracting authority at its sole discretion reserves the right to engage in a separate procurement procedure outside of the framework for any contract arising for legal services.

— The contracting authority reserves the right to successively reduce the number of operators during this negotiated procedure. The contracting authority may gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated.

— Applicants should indicate whether any proportion of this contract is intended to be sub-contracted and if so, further information should be provided as per the instructions in the Qualification Questionnaire.

Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded

A grouping, if successful, may be required to contract as a single entity having joint and severable liability but subject to the agreement of the contracting parties. If it is proposed to sub-contract the delivery of any portion of the initial contract or any subsequent contract under the framework, it may be a condition of award of contract that both the service provider and any proposed sub-contractor enter simultaneously into a collateral warranty with the contracting authority for the relevant portion of that contract.

Justification for framework agreement duration over four years

As the subject matter of this framework agreement is a non-priority (Annex IIB) service, the establishment of the framework is not subject to the provisions of Directive 2004/18/EC with regard to procedures, timescales, selection criteria, award criteria, etc. The awarding authority will employ a negotiated procedure under its own terms and conditions.