(1) If damages are claimed because of a violation of the provisions governing the award of public contracts, and proceedings were conducted before the public procurement tribunal, the court of general jurisdiction shall be bound by the final decision of the public procurement tribunal and the decision of the higher regional court, as well as, where applicable, by the decision of the Federal Court of Justice on the appeal in the case of a referral pursuant to subsection (2).
(2) If a higher regional court wishes to deviate from a decision taken by another higher regional court or the Federal Court of Justice, it shall refer the matter to the Federal Court of Justice. The Federal Court of Justice shall decide in lieu of the higher regional court. The Federal Court of Justice may confine itself to deciding only on the matter of divergence and assign the decision on the merits of the case to the court of appeal if this seems appropriate based on the factual and legal context of the appeal proceedings. The duty to refer the matter shall not apply to proceedings pursuant to Section 173(1) sentence 3 and Section 176.