General interest grounds for not making a declaration of ineffectiveness
61.—(1) Where the Court is satisfied that either of the grounds for ineffectiveness applies, the Court must not make a declaration of ineffectiveness if—
(a)the contracting authority or utility or another party to the proceedings raises an issue under this regulation; and
(b)the Court is satisfied that overriding reasons relating to a general interest require that the effects of the concession contract should be maintained.
(2) For that purpose, economic interests in the effectiveness of the concession contract may be considered as overriding reasons only if in exceptional circumstances ineffectiveness would lead to disproportionate consequences.
(3) However, economic interests directly linked to the concession contract cannot constitute overriding reasons relating to a general interest.
(4) For that purpose, economic interests directly linked to the concession contract include—
(a)the costs resulting from the delay in the execution of the concession contract;
(b)the costs resulting from the commencement of a new procurement procedure;
(c)the costs resulting from change of the economic operator performing the concession contract; and
(d)the costs of legal obligations resulting from the ineffectiveness.
(5) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), overriding reasons may be taken to require that the effects of the concession contract should be maintained even if they do not require the Court to refrain from shortening the duration of the concession contract by an order under regulation 63(3)(a).