First ruling on legal remedies by National Appeal Chamber since overhaul of Public Procurement Law
Poland’s National Appeal Chamber (KIO) issued an order on 5 September 2016 of great practical significance, applying new procurement rules on the permissibility of appeals by contractors interested in bidding for public contracts below the EU thresholds.
Relying on third-party capacity to make the shortlist
Based on a recent judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the provisions of the Polish Public Procurement Law permitting reliance on third-party capacity to demonstrate fulfilment of selection criteria are consistent with EU law.
The group company benefitting from the results of an employee’s work—not the corporate group as a whole—is the employer
To charge an employer with paying social insurance contributions on the income of its employees earned under non-employment contracts with a third party, it is not enough to determine that the effects of the work benefit the employer’s overall corporate group.
In promoting foods, only the consumer’s interests count
The same requirements for nutrition claims and health claims prevail in communications targeted to specialists as in messages aimed at consumers. Consumer protection is the overriding priority.
Licence for an unlimited time in the assessment of the court
Exclusion of the possibility of terminating a licence, although debated by legal commentators, had not been ruled on by the Polish courts until recently. But now a judgment has been issued by the court of appeal inferring from the writings and behaviour of the parties that they concluded a non-exclusive licence agreement for an indefinite period without the possibility of terminating the licence.
Redress of damage from infringement of intellectual property rights
In a judgment issued on 9 June 2016, the Court of Justice ruled on the factors that should be considering when determining the extent of damage and the amount of reasonable compensation for IP infringement. The ruling was issued under Council Regulation (EC) 2100/94 on Community plant variety rights.
Conditions for lending resources must reflect the subject matter and purposes of the procurement
The proposed amendment of the Public Procurement Law, despite introducing certain changes in the rules for participation by third parties in performance of public contracts, does not resolve all doubts concerning the existing practice. For some of them, it would be helpful to consult the guidelines from a recent judgment of the Court of Justice.
Damages for moral losses from infringement of intellectual property rights
A holder of intellectual property rights that have been infringed may demand damages for non-economic loss even when the holder also seeks damages on the basis of hypothetical royalties.
Court of Justice: No legal connection between national leniency programmes and ECN model programme
In the EU system of antitrust law, the European Commission and the member states are autonomous in their application of leniency programmes. The soft harmonisation via the European Competition Network’s Model Leniency Programme is not binding on national competition authorities.
Multinational companies can be liable for environmental harm caused by their subsidiaries
On 18 December 2015 the Dutch Court of Appeal at The Hague issued an interim judgment in a closely watched case concerning liability for environmental injury caused by an oil spill from Shell’s pipelines in Nigeria.
Supreme Court stands up for owners of apartment buildings and communal tenants
In a case led by Wardyński & Partners, the firm obtained a ruling from the Supreme Court favourable to owners of buildings as well as communal tenants, establishing the rule of the liability of the City of Warsaw for non-contractual use of the property.
Contact lenses are not cosmetics
The varying definitions of life science products and applicable provisions of EU directives and regulations can confuse even the most experienced judges, as in the case of a recent preliminary ruling by the Court of Justice sought by the regional court in the German city of Krefeld.
