1.Without prejudice to national laws, regulations or administrative provisions on the remuneration of certain services, the criteria on which the contracting entities shall base the award of contracts shall:
(a)where the contract is awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender from the point of view of the contracting entity, be various criteria linked to the subject-matter of the contract in question, such as delivery or completion date, running costs, cost-effectiveness, quality, aesthetic and functional characteristics, environmental characteristics, technical merit, after-sales service and technical assistance, commitments with regard to parts, security of supply, and price or otherwise
(b)the lowest price only.
2.Without prejudice to the provisions of the third subparagraph, in the case referred to in paragraph 1(a), the contracting entity shall specify the relative weighting which it gives to each of the criteria chosen to determine the most economically advantageous tender.
Those weightings can be expressed by providing for a range with an appropriate maximum spread.
Where, in the opinion of the contracting entity, weighting is not possible for demonstrable reasons, the contracting entity shall indicate the criteria in descending order of importance.
The relative weighting or order of importance shall be specified, as appropriate, in the notice used as a means of calling for competition, in the invitation to confirm the interest referred to in Article 47(5), in the invitation to tender or to negotiate, or in the specifications.