Facts
The City of Geneva put out to tender the renewal of the advertising concession on its public domain for the period 2008-2012. Company X. SA submitted a bid, while contesting the market conditions. The Administrative Tribunal of the Canton of Geneva initially declared the appeal inadmissible, considering that the rules on public procurement did not apply to the granting of a concession.
In the second round of the tender, the City required the concessionaire to set up and manage a self-service bicycle system. Company X. SA then brought the matter before the Administrative Tribunal again, arguing that these services should be subject to the rules on public procurement.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal upheld the appeal. It considered that the granting of the advertising concession as such did not fall within the notion of public procurement, in accordance with its previous case law (ATF 125 I 209).
However, the Federal Tribunal held that the services related to the implementation and operation of the self-service bicycle system should be subject to the rules on public procurement. Indeed, this system represents for the City a means of carrying out a public task, namely promoting soft mobility in the city. Furthermore, although the City does not directly pay a sum of…