On 23 May 2019, the Lower Austrian State Parliament adopted an
amendment to the Lower Austrian Procurement Review Act (NÖ
VNG) whose main point was a fundamental change in the procedure
before the Lower Austrian Public Procurement Arbitration Board.
The Amendment was passed in response to an infringement
procedure initiated by the European Commission against Austria
because it considered the provisions of the NÖ VNG regarding
the obligation to have recourse to the Arbitration Board before
applying to the State Administrative Court and the blocking effect
of the application for arbitration to be incompatible with
Directive 89/665/EEC.
With the newly adopted amendments, which are expected to enter
into effect in late July 2019, arbitration proceedings are no
longer mandatory before review proceedings are instituted before
the State Administrative Court. Contractors may still apply, albeit
voluntarily, to the Arbitration Board, but the contracting
authority is no
