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most interesting rulings

Do I really own my parking spot? On the use of common property in housing communities
In housing communities, the individual parts of common areas (e.g. parking spots, terraces or gardens) are intended for common use by all owners of premises. Often, to avoid problems with use of such areas, division and use of common areas is established at the stage of acquisition of housing units from the developer. This is known as quoad usum division. Can it be changed if circumstances change?
Do I really own my parking spot? On the use of common property in housing communities
Over-the-counter drugs can’t be sold in mobile shops
Under current Polish law, it is illegal to sell OTC drugs from a motor vehicle. This was acknowledged by the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate and confirmed by the Province Administrative Court in Warsaw in its judgment of 23 March 2021 (case no. VI SA/Wa 2691/20).
Over-the-counter drugs can’t be sold in mobile shops
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: Grave professional misconduct must be caused by the contractor
When filling in the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) form, contractors must answer the question whether they have committed grave professional misconduct while performing previous contracts. This question is closely correlated with the condition for exclusion under Art. 109(1)(5) of the Public Procurement Law, which specifies that this concerns violations that are serious and self-caused. Therefore, a contractor does not necessarily have to mention any and all delays or complications that occurred during the performance of previous contracts. In this context, an interesting ruling was issued by the National Appeal Chamber on 4 June 2021 (KIO 1087/21) indicating how this question from the ESPD form should be interpreted.
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: Grave professional misconduct must be caused by the contractor
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: Can a discrepancy in a bid price between figures and words be treated as a typographical error?
Sometimes typos occur when preparing bid documents, and can be corrected by the contracting authority if the contractor provides the required clarification. But not all mistakes can be cured, especially those concerning the bid price, as they directly affect the contractor’s position in the ranking. An example of such a mistake is when a price is given in figures and then restated differently in words. The National Appeal Chamber explained in its ruling of 1 June 2021 (case no. KIO 1040/21) why such a mistake cannot be corrected.
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: Can a discrepancy in a bid price between figures and words be treated as a typographical error?
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: When can a performance bond exceed 5% of the total bid price or the value of the contracting authority’s liability?
When preparing contract documents, the contracting authority must decide the amount of the performance bond it will demand. As a rule, this security should amount to 5% of the total bid price or the value of the contracting authority’s liability. But when can this threshold be exceeded, and to what maximum value? This and other questions were answered in the ruling of the National Appeal Chamber of 21 October 2020 (KIO 1381/20).
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: When can a performance bond exceed 5% of the total bid price or the value of the contracting authority’s liability?
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: Change in the composition of a consortium during competitive dialogue
A two-stage competitive dialogue often extends the procurement procedure to many months. During that time, as a result of various circumstances, changes in the parties to a consortium may occur, often beyond the contractors’ control. In this situation, will the remaining contractors still be entitled to submit a bid, or should they be excluded from the procedure? In its ruling of 22 January 2021 (case no. KIO 3357/20), the National Appeal Chamber held that to avoid negative consequences for contractors, two key conditions must be met.
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: Change in the composition of a consortium during competitive dialogue
Can a forest interfere with sale of a residential unit?
Does State Forests have the right of first refusal on the sale of a residential unit together with a share in a partly forested property? A surprising decision by the Wołomin District Court.
Can a forest interfere with sale of a residential unit?
Claims for procurement damages following Supreme Court resolution III CZP 16/20
In the past, Polish courts took the position that a contractor whose bid was not selected due to a violation of the Public Procurement Law must first file an appeal with the National Appeal Chamber (and possibly a complaint with the state court against the chamber’s ruling), and only then could seek redress from the contracting authority. This discouraged contractors from pursuing claims. A recent resolution by the Supreme Court has changed this situation.
Claims for procurement damages following Supreme Court resolution III CZP 16/20
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: The specialised nature of medical procurements justifies tougher conditions for participating in tenders
When establishing the conditions for participating in a contract award procedure, contracting authorities often face the dilemma of how to reflect the specific subject matter of the procurement without infringing the principle of proportionality. This task is even harder when the procurement involves specialised medical equipment, where improper servicing could put patients’ life or health at risk. Do such circumstances justify limiting the number of bidders seeking a contract? Yes, the National Appeal Chamber held in its ruling of 29 January 2021 (case no. KIO 3489/20).
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: The specialised nature of medical procurements justifies tougher conditions for participating in tenders
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: Protection of trade secrets in public procurement
Trade secrets are a sensitive aspect of public procurement proceedings. They limit the principle of openness of proceedings, but protect sensitive information about the contractor’s business. When granting or denying a request to keep certain information secret, the contracting authority should carefully assess the contractor’s arguments, to prevent abuse of this institution. Despite entry into force of the new Public Procurement Law, this issue is still alive, as evidenced by the recently published ruling of the National Appeal Chamber of 29 March 2021 (case no. KIO 720/21).
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: Protection of trade secrets in public procurement
Should the appearance of a bicycle be subject to copyright protection?
A typical bicycle has two wheels of equal size, handlebars, a frame, and a chain drive for the rear wheel. But do individual bicycle models deserve copyright protection? And if so, what factors determine whether they are granted such protection? These questions were addressed by the Court of Justice of the European Union in a judgment delivered on 11 June 2020.
Should the appearance of a bicycle be subject to copyright protection?
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: Differences between material and immaterial defects during handover of construction works
Flawless performance of a public contract is very rare. Therefore, the case law has adopted the principle that contracting authorities may refuse the final handover only if there are material defects. But what is the nature of material defects, and how can the procedure for handover of works be properly defined in a public contract? These issues were recently considered by the National Appeal Chamber (KIO) in its ruling of 1 December 2020 (KIO 2965/20), which additionally took a stand on the issue of allegedly grossly excessive contractual penalties and limits on such penalties.
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: Differences between material and immaterial defects during handover of construction works