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1. The award of contracts shall be an administrative procedure prior to the letting of a contract following an invitation to competitive tender. Its effect shall be to confer publicly on the tenderer whose tender is the lowest — out of all those which are entered in due and proper form, meet the conditions laid down, and are comparable with each other — the right to the final award of the contract, after approval by the authorizing officer. The award of contract shall be termed public or open, where it is open to all comers to submit a tender; it shall be termed restricted where tenders may be entered only by those whom it has been decided to consult because of their special qualifications.

2. A contract following an invitation to tender is a contract entered into by the contracting parties following an invitation to competitive tender. In this case, the offer considered the most attractive may be freely chosen, taking into account the cost of performance, operating costs involved, technical merit, the time for performance, together with the financial guarantees and the guarantees of professional competence put forward by each of the tenderers.

An invitation to tender shall be termed public or open where a general invitation to competitive tender is involved; it shall be termed restricted where it is addressed only to those whom it has been decided to consult because of their special qualifications.

3. The procedure for issuing an invitation to competitive tender, both as regards the award of contract and invitations to tender, shall be specified in the implementation procedure referred to in Article 76.