Article 139. Secret contracts.

1. The provisions of the code relating to award procedures may be derogated from: a) for contracts whose object, deeds or methods of execution are assigned a secrecy classification; b) for contracts whose execution must be accompanied by special safety measures, in compliance with legislative, regulatory or administrative provisions. 2. For the purposes of the derogation referred to in paragraph 1, letter a), the contracting authorities assign, with a reasoned provision, the secrecy classifications pursuant to article 42 of law 3 August 2007, n. 124, or other regulations in force, giving account of the specific causes that justify the stipulation of a secret contract, with particular regard to the conditions envisaged for each classification. For the purposes of the exemption referred to in paragraph 1, letter b), the contracting authorities declare, with a reasoned provision, the works, services and supplies that can be carried out with special safety measures identified in the aforementioned provision, specifying the causes that require such measures. 3. The contracts referred to in paragraph 1 are executed by economic operators in possession of the requirements established by the code, as well as security clearance, pursuant to and within the limits set out in article 42, paragraph 1-bis, of law 3 August 2007, n. 124. 4. The assignment of the contracts referred to in this article takes place following an informal tender to which at least five economic operators are invited, if there are qualified subjects in this number in relation to the object of the contract and provided that the negotiation with more than one economic operator is compatible with the requirements of secrecy and security. 5. The Court of Auditors, through the Central Section for the control of classified contracts, exercises preventive control on the motivated measures referred to in paragraph 2, preventive control on the legitimacy and regularity of the contracts referred to in this article, as well as control over the regularity, correctness and effectiveness of management. The activity referred to in this paragraph shall be given an account by 30 June of each year in a report to the Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic. EFFECTIVE FROM: 1 July 2023