CALL FOR TENDERS

for provision of Intellectual services in framework of

the Council of Europe and european union Joint project

“Promote efficient functioning of state institutions and public administration”

2020AO60

Object of the procurement procedure ►	Provision of intellectual services in framework of the Council of Europe and European Union joint project “Promote efficient functioning of state institutions and public administration”
Project ►	The Council of Europe and European Union Joint Project “Promote Efficient Functioning of State Institutions and Public Administration”
Organisation and buying entity ►	Council of Europe Secretariat of the Enlarged Agreement on Democracy through law (Venice Commission)
Type of contract ►	Framework Contract
Duration ►	Until 31 December 2023
Expected starting date ►	01 February 2021
Tender Notice Issuance date ►	27 November 2020
Deadline for tendering ►	17 December 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS

This Tender File contains:

·       The TERMS OF REFERENCE. 3

The TERMS OF REFERENCE describe what will be expected from the selected Providers.

·       The TENDER RULES. 7

The TENDER RULES explain the procedure through which the tenders will be submitted by the tenderers and assessed by the Council of Europe.

·       The ACT OF ENGAGEMENT(See Document attached) is the document formalising the consent of the Parties to be bound by the LEGAL CONDITIONS, which are the legal provisions which will be applicable between the Council of Europe and the selected Providers. It also contains the TABLE OF FEES, which indicates the applicable fees, throughout the duration of the contract.

PART I –TERMS OF REFERENCE

CALL FOR TENDERS

for provision OF INTELLECTUAL SERVICES IN FRAMEWORK OF

THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND EUROPEAN UNION Joint PROJECT

“PROMOTE EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING OF STATE INSTITUTIONS AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION”

2020AO60

A.  Background

The Council of Europe and European Union Joint Programme in the field of Rule of Law aims to reinforce human rights, rule of law and democracy in accordance with European and other international standards, based on a demand-driven approach. The Programme is open to all Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) wishing to benefit from the Council of Europe expertise and meeting the conditions for co-operation as announced by the policy of the Council of Europe towards Neighbouring regions, in particular: to help to promote Rule of Law and good governance, on the basis of the relevant Council of Europe standards, mechanisms and instruments; and to reinforce and enlarge the Council of Europe regional action in combating transborder and global threats.

The Venice Commission is responsible for implementation of the Component four of the Joint Programme: “Promote efficient functioning of state institutions and public administration”.

Expected outcomes:

►         Relevant legislation in the field of changing or implementing constitutional provisions is developed, aligned with international standards, adopted by the parliaments and enforced by relevant actors;

►         New legislation in the field of administrative law and justice, including the reform of public administration and Alternative Dispute Resolution is developed;

►         Efficiency of representatives of public administration and the judiciary is enhanced.

The Council of Europe is looking for a maximum 50 Providers (provided enough tenders meet the criteria indicated below) in order to support the implementation of the project with a particular expertise on providing legal advice to authorities on how to improve relevant legislation and institutional frameworks in accordance with European standards and international experience in the fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

This Contract is currently estimated to cover up to 60 activities to be held by 31 December 2023. This estimate is for information only and shall not constitute any sort of contractual commitment on the part of the Council of Europe. The Contract may potentially represent a higher or lower number of activities, depending on the evolving needs of the Organisation.

For information purposes only, the total budget of the project amounts to 1 788 433.88 Euros and the total amount of the object of present tender should in principle not exceed 135 600 Euros for the whole duration of the Framework Contract. This information does not constitute any sort of contractual commitment or obligation on the part of the Council of Europe.

B.  SCOPE OF THE FRAMEWORK CONTRACT

Throughout the duration of the Framework Contract, pre-selected Providers may be asked to provide the following services in the field of constitutional and administrative justice, as well as efficiency of democratic functioning of public institutions:

•     Prepare expert advice on pieces of draft legislation;

•     Prepare in-depth analysis of the existing legislation, the regulatory framework and institutional/operational systems;

•     Participate in capacity-building activities online or/and in person in beneficiary countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan).

Pre-selected Providers may be asked to work on the following topics:

•     implementation of existing legislation and normative acts with the view to the functional independence of the justice system;

•     support to public administration reforms;

·       support to constitutional reform processes;

·       improvement of the enforcement of the decisions taken by the national courts and by international human rights treaty bodies;

·       increasing trust in the justice system (judiciary, prosecution and law enforcement);

·       support to reforms of the alternative dispute resolution;

·       improvement of the efficiency of public institutions.

 

The above list is not considered exhaustive. The Council reserves the right to request deliverables not explicitly mentioned in the above list of expected services, but related to the field of expertise object of the present Framework Contract.

In terms of quality requirements, the pre-selected Service Providers must ensure, inter alia, that:

·         The services are provided to the highest professional/academic standard;

·         Any specific instructions given by the Council – whenever this is the case – are followed.

In addition to the orders requested on an as needed basis, the Provider shall keep regular communication with the Council to ensure continuing exchange of information relevant to the project implementation. This involves, among others, to inform the Council as soon as it becomes aware, during the execution of the Contract, of any initiatives and/or adopted laws and regulations, policies, strategies or action plans or any other development related to the object of the Contract (see more on general obligations of the Provider in Article 3.1.2 of the Legal Conditions in the Act of Engagement).

Unless otherwise agreed with the Council, written documents produced by the Provider shall be in English (see more on requirements for written documents in Articles 3.2.2 and 3.2.3 of the Legal Conditions in the Act of Engagement).]

C.  FEES

Tenderers are invited to indicate their unit fees, by completing the table of fees, as attached in Section A of the Act of Engagement. These fees are final and not subject to review.

Tenders proposing fees above the exclusion level indicated in the Table of fees will be entirely and automatically excluded from the tender procedure.

The Council will indicate on each Order Form (see Section D below) the global fee corresponding to each deliverable, calculated on the basis of the daily fees, as agreed by this Contract.

D.  HOW WILL THIS FRAMEWORK CONTRACT WORK? (Ordering PROCEDURE)

Once this consultation and the subsequent selection are completed, you will be informed accordingly. Deliverables will then be carried out on the basis of Order Forms submitted by the Council to the selected Service Provider(s), by post or electronically, on an as needed basis (there is therefore no obligation to order on the part of the Council).

Each time an Order Form is sent, the selected Provider undertakes to take all the necessary measures to send it signed to the Council within 2 (two)  working days after its reception.

Pooling

For each Order, the Council will choose from the pool of pre-selected tenderers the Provider who demonstrably offers best value for money for its requirement when assessed – for the Order concerned – against the criteria of: 

-           quality (including as appropriate: capability, expertise, past performance, availability of resources and proposed methods of undertaking the work);

-           availability (including, without limitation, capacity to meet required deadlines and, where relevant, geographical location); and

-           price.

If a Provider is unable to take an Order or if no reply is given on his behalf within that deadline, the Council may call on another Service Provider using the same criteria, and so on until a suitable Provider is contracted.

Providers subject to VAT

The Provider, if subject to VAT, shall also send, together with each signed Form, a quote^[1] (Pro Forma invoice) in line with the indications specified on each Order Form, and including:

-    the Service Provider’s name and address;

-    its VAT number;

-    the full list of services;

-    the fee per type of deliverables (in the currency indicated on the Act of Engagement, tax exclusive);

-    the total amount per type of deliverables (in the currency indicated on the Act of Engagement, tax exclusive);

-    the total amount (in the currency indicated on the Act of Engagement), tax exclusive, the applicable VAT rate, the amount of VAT and the amount VAT inclusive .

Signature of orders

An Order Form is considered to be legally binding when the Order, signed by the Service Provider, is approved by the Council, by displaying a Council’s Purchase Order number on the Order, as well as by signing and stamping the Order concerned. Copy of each approved Order Form shall be sent to the Provider, to the extent possible on the day of its signature.

E.   ASSESSMENT

Exclusion criteria (by signing the Act of Engagement, you declare on your honour not being in any of the below situations) [2]

Tenderers shall be excluded from participating in the tender procedure if they:

·         have been sentenced by final judgment on one or more of the following charges: participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, money laundering;

·         are in a situation of bankruptcy, liquidation, termination of activity, insolvency or arrangement with creditors or any like situation arising from a procedure of the same kind, or are subject to a procedure of the same kind;

·         have received a judgment with res judicata force, finding an offence that affects their professional integrity or serious professional misconduct;

·         do not comply with their obligations as regards payment of social security contributions, taxes and dues, according to the statutory provisions of their country of incorporation, establishment or residence;

·         are or are likely to be in a situation of conflict of interests;

·         are or if their owner(s) or executive officer(s), in the case of legal persons, are included in the lists of persons or entities subject to restrictive measures applied by the European Union (available at www.sanctionsmap.eu).

Eligibility criteria

Tenderers shall demonstrate that they fulfil the following criteria (to be assessed on the basis of all supporting documents listed in Section F):

·         University degree in law, political science or other related field;

·         Minimum 5 years of experience in providing similar services as described in the Section B of the Tender file;

·         Very good knowledge of the English language (at least C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

Award criteria

·         Quality of the offer (70%), including:

-       Level and relevance of the experience (in particular in analysis of the existing legislation, the regulatory framework and institutional/operational systems in the field of constitutional and administrative justice as well as in public administration reform and promotion of efficient and democratic functioning of public institutions);

-       Work experience as a lecturer in a university or a past experience as a senior civil servant (ex. in the Constitutional or Supreme Court,  Ministry of Justice, Parliament or other relevant public institution, etc.) would be an advantage;

-       Publications in the field of constitutional and administrative justice, Rule of Law as well as functioning of public institutions would be an advantage ;

-       Knowledge of the Russian language would be an advantage.  

·         Financial offer (30%).

The Council reserves the right to hold interviews with eligible tenderers.

Multiple tendering is not authorised.

F.   DOCUMENTS TO BE PROVIDED

Ø  A completed and signed copy of the Act of Engagement;[3]

Ø  A detailed CV demonstrating clearly that the tenderer fulfils the eligibility criteria;

Ø  Copy of publications in the field of constitutional and administrative justice as well as efficiency of democratic functioning of public institutions (if any);

Ø  Registration documents for legal persons only.

All documents shall be submitted in English, failure to do so will result in the exclusion of the tender. If any of the documents listed above are missing, the Council of Europe reserves the right to reject the tender.

The Council reserves the right to reject a tender if the scanned documents are of such a quality that the documents cannot be read once printed.

* * *

PART II – TENDER RULES

CALL FOR TENDERS

FOR PROVISION OF INTELLECTUAL SERVICES IN FRAMEWORK OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND EUROPEAN UNION JOINT PROJECT “PROMOTE EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING OF STATE INSTITUTIONS AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION”

2020AO60

ARTICLE 1 – IDENTIFICATION OF THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY

1.1   Name and address

COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Secretariat of the Enlarged Agreement on Democracy through law (Venice Commission)

67075 Strasbourg Cedex, France

1.2   Background

The activities of the Organisation are governed by its Statute. These activities concern the promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Organisation has its seat in Strasbourg and has set up external offices in about 20 member and non-member states (in Ankara, Baku, Belgrade, Brussels, Bucharest, Chisinau, Erevan, Geneva, Kyiv, Lisbon, Moscow, Paris, Podgorica, Pristina, Rabat, Sarajevo, Skopje, Tbilisi, Tirana, Tunis, Warsaw, Venice and Vienna).

Council of Europe procurements are governed by the Financial Regulations of the Organisation and by Rule 1395 of 20 June 2019 on the procurement procedures of the Council of Europe.

The Organisation enjoys privileges and immunities provided for in the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe, and its Protocols, and the Special Agreement relating to the Seat of the Council of Europe.^[4]

Further details on the project are provided in the Terms of Reference.

ARTICLE 2 – VALIDITY OF THE TENDERS

Tenders are valid for 120 calendar days as from the closing date for their submission.

ARTICLE 3 – DURATION OF THE CONTRACT

The duration of the framework contract is set out in Article 2 of the Legal Conditions in the Act of Engagement.

ARTICLE 4 – CHANGE, ALTERATION AND MODIFICATION OF THE TENDER FILE

Any change in the format, or any alteration or modification of the original tender will cause the immediate rejection of the tender concerned.

ARTICLE 5 – Content of the tender file

The tender file is composed of:

-    Technical specifications/Terms of reference;

-    Tender rules;

-    An Act of Engagement, including the Legal Conditions of the contract.

ARTICLE 6 – LEGAL FORM OF TENDERERS

The tenderer must be either a natural person, or a legal person except consortia.

ARTICLE 7 – SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

General information can be found on the website of the Council of Europe: http://www.coe.int

Other questions regarding this specific tendering procedure shall be sent at the latest by one week before the deadline for submissions of tenders, in [English or French], and shall be exclusively sent to the following address: [email protected].

This address is to be used for questions only; for modalities of tendering, please refer to the below Article.

ARTICLE 8 – MODALITIES OF THE TENDERING

Tenders must be sent to the Council of Europe electronically.

Electronic copies shall be sent only to [email protected] with the subject line “2020AO60 Call for tenders for provision of intellectual services in framework of the Council of Europe and European Union joint project “Promote efficient functioning of state institutions and public administration”. Tenders submitted to another e-mail account will be excluded from the procedure.

ARTICLE 9 – Deadline for submission of tenders

The deadline for the submission of tenders is 17 December 2020.

ARTICLE 10 – ASSESSMENT OF TENDERS

Tenders shall be assessed in accordance with Rule 1395 of 20 June 2019 on the procurement procedures of the Council of Europe. Assessment shall be based upon the criteria as detailed in the Terms of Reference.

ARTICLE 11 – NEGOTIATIONS

The Council reserves the right to hold negotiations with the bidders in accordance with Article 20 of Rule 1395.

* * *

FINAL CHECK LIST

1)BEFORE SENDING YOUR TENDER, CHECK THAT IT INCLUDES:

Ø  A completed and signed copy of the Act of Engagement;

Ø  A detailed CV demonstrating clearly that the tenderer fulfils the eligibility criteria;

Ø  Copy of publications in the field of constitutional and administrative justice as well as efficiency of democratic functioning of public institutions (if any);

Ø  Registration documents for legal persons only.

2) HOW TO SEND TENDERS?

Tenders must be sent to the Council of Europe electronically.  

Electronic copies shall be sent only to [email protected]. with the subject line “2020AO60 Call for tenders for provision of intellectual services in framework of the Council of Europe and European Union joint project “Promote efficient functioning of state institutions and public administration”.

Tenders submitted to another e-mail account will be excluded from the procedure.

The deadline for the submission of tenders is 17 December 2020.