authority to ensure integrity, confidentiality and non-repudiation of information and the availability of e-PRIOR , which must be applied immediately. 

## II.5.4 Validity and date of e-documents 

The parties agree that any e-document, including related attachments exchanged via e-PRIOR : 

(a) is considered as equivalent to a paper document; 

(b) is deemed to be the original of the document; 

(c) is legally binding on the parties once an e-PRIOR  authorised person has performed the ‘sign’ action in e-PRIOR  and has full legal effect; and 

(d) constitutes evidence of the information contained in it and is admissible as evidence in judicial proceedings. 

The parties expressly waive any rights to contest the validity of such a document solely on the grounds that communications between the parties occurred through e-PRIOR or that the document has been signed through e-PRIOR . If a direct connection is established between the parties’ back offices to allow electronic transfer of documents, the parties agree that an e- document, sent as mentioned in the interface control document , qualifies as an EDI message . 

If the e-document is dispatched through the supplier portal , it is deemed to have been legally issued or sent when the contractor (or leader in the case of a joint tender) is able to successfully submit the e-document without any error messages. The generated PDF and XML document for the e-document are considered as a proof of receipt by the contracting authority. 

In the event that an e-document is dispatched using a direct connection established between the parties’ back offices , the e-document is deemed to have been legally issued or sent when its status is ‘received’ as defined in the interface control document . 

When using the supplier portal , the contractor (or leader in the case of a joint tender) can download the PDF or XML message for each e-document for one year after submission. After this period, copies of the e-documents are no longer available for automatic download from the supplier portal . 

## II.5.5 Authorised persons in e-PRIOR 

The contractor submits a request for each person who needs to be assigned the role of ‘user’ in e-PRIOR . These persons are identified by means of the European Communication Authentication Service (ECAS) and authorised to access and perform actions in e-PRIOR within the permissions of the user roles that the contracting authority has assigned to them. 

User roles enabling these e-PRIOR  authorised persons to sign legally binding documents such as specific tenders or specific contracts are granted only upon submission of supporting documents proving that the authorised person is empowered to act as a legal representative of the contractor. 

## LIABILITY II.6. 

II.6.1 The contracting authority is not liable for any damage or loss caused by the contractor, including any damage or loss to third parties during or as a consequence of performance of the contract . 

