Write to us: kontakt@stowarzyszeniepzp.pl
Write to us: kontakt@stowarzyszeniepzp.pl
18 January 2022. The Public Procurement Law Association had the pleasure of co-organising a debate with the Lewiatan Confederation entitled, "PROBLEMS WITH PERFORMING A CONTRACT AND GROUNDS FOR EXCLUSION FROM PUBLIC TENDERING".
The following speakers participated in the debate: Hubert Nowak, President of the Public Procurement Office; Mariusz Haładyj, President of the Polish General Prosecutor's Office and member of the Public Procurement Council; Przemysław Grosfeld, Deputy Director at the Ministry of Development and member of the Public Procurement Council; Małgorzata Śledziewska, Deputy Director of the Procurement Department at PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A.; and Artur Luczak, Director of the Rzeszów Branch of Erbud S.A.
The meeting was chaired by the following members of the SPZP: Katarzyna Kuźma and Wojciech Merkwa.
The debate was devoted to one of the most controversial grounds for exclusion provided for in Art. 109 sec. 1 item 7 of the Public Procurement Law, i.e. the consequences of non-performance or improper performance of a prior public procurement or concession agreement. The speakers emphasised that this is an extremely important topic for all participants in the public procurement market, yet one which raises significant interpretative questions and is treated inconsistently in case law.
Some of the speakers suggested that legislative changes should be introduced to make the rules more precise. Other participants of the debate suggested promoting good practices among market participants or developing interpretative guidelines which would help to standardise the application of Article 109 (1) (7) of the Public Procurement Law in practice.
The debate enjoyed great interest which translated into a lively discussion among the participants.
We would like to thank the speakers for a valuable discussion, as well as all who actively participated in the debate.
Please view the debate recordings:
Part one
Part two
Part three
Today's issue of Dziennik Gazeta Prawna features a ranking of lawyers that have the greatest impact on social, economic, and political life in Poland. Aldona Kowalczyk, co-founder and President of the Board of the Public Procurement Law Association (PPLA), was singled out in the ranking.
"In our ranking, we traditionally focus on which lawyers have had an impact on our reality and how they have expressed that impact. We are reserved in our assessments; we leave them to our readers," concluded Krzysztof Jedlak, editor-in-chief of Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
The ranking indicates that PPLA "focuses on solving the real problems in the public procurement market and does so extremely effectively. Without beating about the bush, and focusing on the substance of the issue, the PPLA points out the dangers of misinterpreting the rules and fights to change approaches."
The PPLA associates more than 50 lawyers actively providing legal assistance in the field of public procurement law, PPP, and concessions. DGP's list emphasises the reputation and recognition of the Association as a professional organisation whose voice resounds in relationships between officials and participants in the public procurement market.
"Tenders - you can combine potentials to meet the conditions for participation in the procedure," by Irena Skubiszak-Kalinowska, a member of the SPZP, has been published in the latest supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily on jurisprudence.
You can read the publication by clicking here.
Today's issue of Dziennik Gazeta Prawna features an article on an opinion issued by the Public Procurement Office, at the request of the Public Procurement Law Association, regarding the application of the civil law institution of the transfer of direct payments to subcontractors for public works contracts.
In the article, Aldona Kowalczyk, Public Procurement Law Association Chairman; and Jarosław Jerzykowski, a member of the PPLA Audit Committee; comment on and explain the content of the opinion.
The article is available in print and on the DGP website.
In the latest supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily on jurisprudence, two articles written by SPZP’s (Public Procurement Law Association) members were published:
On 4 January 2022, the Public Procurement Office responded to the SPZP's request for an opinion on how to apply the civil law institution of remitting direct payments to subcontractors undertaking public works contracts. In its opinion*, the Public Procurement Office (UZP) confirmed that the application of remitting the debt owed to a contractor based on a subcontractor agreement does not conflict with the provisions of Public Procurement Law.
* the text of the PPO's reply is only available in Polish
You can read the publication by clicking here.
Konfederacja Lewiatan and the Public Procurements Law Association invite you to the following debate:
PROBLEMS WITH PERFORMING A CONTRACT AND GROUNDS FOR EXCLUSION FROM PUBLIC TENDERING
to be held on 18 January 2022, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
The Public Procurements Act (PPA), in force since 1 January 2021, has introduced a number of changes, including in the matter that is so significant for the public procurements market, in the grounds for exclusion from procedures for the award of a public contract. One of the prerequisites that is most controversial in practice, inconsistently construed by case law, has been provided for in Art. 109 Sec. 1 point 7 of the PPA.
This provision was modified in comparison to the previously applicable version (which was also controversial). The new wording was not successful in dispelling previous doubts; instead, it also has generated new, previously unknown, risks.
One of the essential elements which deepens doubts is the method in which contractors should prepare their statements in the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD). This question has a broader scope than the prerequisite for exclusion under Art. 109 Sec. 1 point 7 of the PPA. In this regard, the decision-making practice and case law are inconsistent and the consequence of this legal uncertainty leads to: 1) the risks of breaching the principle of equal treatment of contractors in granting access to the public contracts market; and 2) the growing number of exclusions from the procedures for the award of a public contract in connection with the alleged misleading practices of the contracting authority.
This legal uncertainty does not serve the participants of the public procurements market, and the practice of referring to this provision in proceedings seems to increasingly depart from the purpose which the provision was to serve.
The topics raised for discussion during the meeting will include:
The meeting will be hosted by Katarzyna Kuźma and Wojciech Merkwa, members of the Public Procurements Law Association.
The following guests will take part in the debate:
To find out more information and register, click here LINK.
In the latest supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily on jurisprudence, the article “New PPL (Public Procurement Law): clarification of contract terms and conditions” was published, co-authored by Piotr Trębicki, a member of the Public Procurement Law Association.
You can read the publication by clicking here.
In the latest supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily on jurisprudence, the article “Consortium member's experience pays off” was published. The author of the article is Marzena Jaworska, a member of the Public Procurement Law Association.
You can read the publication by clicking here.
In the latest supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily on jurisprudence, an article was published “Report on the performance of the contract - an important purchasing tool or unnecessary burden?”, the author of which is UMK’s professor, PhD Paweł Nowicki, a member of the Public Procurement Law Association.
You can read the publication by clicking here.
On 26 October 2021 PPLA filed with the President of the Public Procurement Authority a request for the issuance of an opinion concerning the possibility to use the institution of remittance ( Polish: przekaz, in the meaning of the provisions of Art. 921(1) of the Civil Code) of the remuneration payable to the contractor by the contracting authority in the course of performance of the public procurement agreement, so as to cover the contractor’s debt resulting from sub-contracting agreements.
The request is driven by the doubts that arise with regard to the admissibility of using remittance and with regard to the relationship between the provisions of the Civil Code on remittance and the provisions of Public Procurement Law on direct payment to the subcontractor. A confirmation that it is possible to make payments to the subcontractors by way of remittance is of major importance for the execution of procurements for construction work. When the remittance is made the subcontractor effectively obtains the payment that is due to it. The contracting authority is, in turn, confident that payment to the subcontractor was actually made which releases it from the obligation to open the procedure of direct payment referred to in Art. 465 of Public Procurement Law and, with regard to the subcontractors performing construction work, also from the joint and several liability towards them under Art. 647(1) § 1 of the Civil Code.
Ultimately, a remittance is also advantageous for the contractor. The contractor may thus make payments to its subcontractors in a simplified manner without having to directly commit its own funds.
The text of the request is available here.
The Public Procurement Law Association is pleased to invite you to a webinar on "Public procurement in the UK – has Brexit provoked any (substantial) changes?", which will be held on 22 April 2021 at 1:00 p.m. BST / 2 p.m. CEST.
Brexit is a massive social, economic and also legal challenge. Public procurement has been one of the heavily influenced sectors. We have the privilege of hosting Professor Sue Arrowsmith who has been deeply involved in the recent proposals for changes within the public procurement system in UK in the new era. Please join our webinar and stay updated.
The meeting will be held in English.
Webinar agenda:
Speaker: Professor Sue Arrowsmith QC (hon), BA, D Jur, MCIPS, Professor Emerita, School of Law, University of Nottingham
Moderator: Wojciech Hartung, PhD, member of the Public Procurement Law Association
About the Speaker:
Professor Sue Arrowsmith QC (hon) is Professor Emerita at the University of Nottingham. She has a B.A. (first class hons.) from Oxford University and a D.Jur from Osgoode Hall Law School and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (MCIPS).
In 2007 she was awarded the CIPS Swinbank Medal for thought innovation in purchasing and supply and in 2019 was made an honorary Queens Counsel (QC) in recognition of her significant contribution to the development of the law of England and Wales in the field of public procurement.
She has been instrumental reforming public procurement rules and was a member of the UK’s Procurement Transformation Advisory Panel, advising on the development of the Government’s 2020 Green Paper, Transforming Public Procurement. She is also a member of the Government’s its Thematic Working Group on Procurement advising on public procurement rules in trade agreements and a Member of the Advisory Committee for the Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid. She has been a member of the UNCITRAL Procurement Experts Group, the World Bank International Advisory Group on Procurement, (for nearly 20 years) the European Commission's independent Advisory Committee on procurement, and an Expert with the International Partnership against Corruption in Sport (IPACS), Taskforce 1. She has also been consultant for the UK, UN, WTO, OECD, EU, European Central Bank, ILO and the Law Commission of England and Wales.
Her publications have been extensively cited by courts around the world. Her many books include (most recently) The Law of Public and Utilities Procurement (3rd ed. 2014 (Vol.1) and 2018 (vol.2)), which was described in 2018 by the domestic High Court as “the leading academic authority” and “highly persuasive” for the courts in making decisions in this field.
Date: April 22nd, 1.00-2.30 p.m. BST (2.00-3.30 p.m. CEST)
Registration
The meeting will be held in English on the Zoom platform. Participation in the webinar is free of charge.
Thank you for taking part in the webinar: "Green Transition in Public Procurement". We would like to extend particular thanks to the speakers for an insightful and professional discussion.
If you were unable to attend the webinar live, you can still watch the recording at: https://youtu.be/kL_OAThQmsE
Public Procurement Law Association warmly invites to open access webinar on "Green Transition in Public Procurement", which will be held on March 30, 2021 at 11:00 CET.
The meeting will be held in English.
Speakers:
Date: March 30, 2021 | 11:00 – 12:30 CET
Link to the Zoom Webinar (registration is not required).
The meeting will be held in English on the Zoom platform. Participation in the conference is free of charge.
On 1 June 2020, the final oral part of the moot court competition entitled “Client Representation before the KIO National Appeals Chamber” for students of Law and Administration Faculties, was held at the Warsaw offices of WKB Wierciński, Kwieciński, Baehr.
The competition was organized by the Public Procurement Law Association. The competition award winners will get the chance to take part in trainee programs in law firms supporting the competition, such as Bird & Bird, BSJP, Clifford Chance, Dentons, Domański Zakrzewski Palinka, Jerzykowski i Wspólnicy, Schampera Dubis Zając i Wspólnicy, Wardyński i Wspólnicy, and WKB Wierciński Kwieciński Baehr.
The following four universities entered their teams into the competition:
Mickiewicz University, Poznan (Supervisors: Prof. UAM Dr hab. Katarzyna Kokocińska, Dr Jarosław Kola), Jagiellonian University (Supervisor: Dr Aleksandra Sołtysińska), University of Lodz (Supervisor: Dr Anna Górczyńska), University of Warsaw (Supervisor: Dr hab. Piotr Bogdanowicz).
The competition was staged in two phases:
The teams’ ranking following the written part of the competition was as follows:
The briefs were evaluated in terms of the quality of the legal argumentation presented, formal correctness, as well as an unmistakable flair for polemics.
Based on these criteria, the submissions drafted by the University of Warsaw’s team received the highest score.
According to the Rules of the Competition, oral performance received twice as many points as the written part. For this reason, the oral phase was crucial for the final outcome.
During the final part of the competition, the teams took part in a mock trial before the KIO, acting as the parties’ counsel. The teams’ performance was evaluated by a panel consisting of Sylwester Kuchnio, Esq. (Chair), Aldona Kowalczyk, Esq. and Jan Roliński, Esq.
The atmosphere of the finale bore striking resemblance to that of a real court battle before the KIO, the participants showing a high level of preparation for the hearings and full professionalism in the speeches they delivered.
When assessing oral presentations, the jurors took into account the substantive level of the speeches as well as the rhetorical skills of the respective speakers. Highest scores were given for prompt and apposite retorts, and to speakers who managed to keep their cool and come up with creative solutions in unforeseen courtroom situations (e.g. in answers to questions asked by the adjudicating panel).
Conversely, speakers who repeated the arguments presented in the pleadings parrot fashion, excessively focused on allegations that were irrelevant for the outcome of the case, reviewed their opponents’ briefs instead of fighting the substantive accusations that they contained, and especially those reading prewritten speeches, were given fewer points.
Upon adding up the scores for the written and oral parts, the final results of the Moot Court competition are as follows:
Congratulations to all Winners and Participants!
In keeping with the Rules of the “Client Representation before the KIO National Appeals Chamber” competition, announced by the Public Procurement Law Association, we present four teams which signed up for the competition, team draw results and the competition’s case studies.
Team A – Mickiewicz University, Poznan (Supervisors: prof. Dr hab. Katarzyna Kokocińska, Jarosław Kola)
o Aleksandra Grabowska
o Alicja Sementina
o Filip Golędzinowski
o Łukasz Wasilenko
o Maciej Kowalczyk
Team B – University of Warsaw (Supervisor: Dr hab. Piotr Bogdanowicz)
o Eryk Ryciak
o Marcin Woźny
o Agnieszka Warsewicz
o Mateusz Mućka
o Adam Jeżewski
o Marta Radke
Team C – Jagiellonian University (Supervisor: Dr Aleksandra Sołtysińska)
o Tomasz Mielko
o Maciej Gilis-Januszewski
o Michał Kulikowski
o Kinga Kanecka
o Rafał Rutkowski
o Karol Witas
Team D – University of Lodz (Supervisor: Dr Anna Górczyńska)
o Julia Bilska
o Magdalena Rogozińska
o Maria Szychowska
o Adam Kramarz
o Katarzyna Leszka
Click here to download case studies. See below for teams assigned to each individual case:
More information on the competition, time schedule and the Competition Rules are available here.
The third General Meeting of the Members of the Public Procurement Law Association took place on 3 February 2020 at the premises of Dentons. The Meeting was an opportunity to recap the activities undertaken by the Association in 2019 and discuss the projects due to be implemented in 2020.
Members of the Association further discussed the upcoming initiatives organized or co-organized by the Public Procurement Law Association, which included, among others, the conference “on effective contract administration and dispute resolution – keys to innovation and environmental sustainability in public procurement practice” to be held on 18 March 2020 in Warsaw, as well as a moot court student competition, “Legal Representation before the National Appeals Chamber”. The meeting ended with a discussion on the merits and exchange of knowledge on selected aspects of the new Public Procurement Law.
We appreciate our Members’ active participation in the Meeting.
Due to the situation caused by the Covid virus, travel alerts, questions from our participants and sponsors the organizers took the decision to postpone the Transatlantic conference on effective contract administration and dispute resolution – keys to innovation and environmental sustainability in public procurement practice, which was planned on March, 18 at the University of Warsaw.
This decision has been taken due to the protection of the participant’s comfort and health as well as due to the best understanding of sponsors and partners reputation. The new term of this event is planned for September 30, 2020 and will be announced soon.
We are pleased to invite you to a conference to be held on 18 March 2020 in Warsaw by the "Pro Silesia" Association, the University of Silesia in Katowice, the University of Warsaw, the George Washington University in Washington and the Public Procurement Law Association (PPLA):
"TRANSATLANTIC CONFERENCE: on effective contract administration and
dispute resolution – keys to innovation and environmental sustainability in public procurement practice"
The conference will focus on practical aspects of the implementation of public contracts and the resolution of disputes arising from these contracts in terms ofinnovation and environmental sustainability. The event partner is Tauron Polska Energia S.A. and the conference is held under the patronage of the Fulbright Poland foundation. The event will be attended by representatives of public institutions and Polish and foreign public procurement experts.
Simultaneous interpretation into English will be provided. The number of places is limited.
Here you can find more details and registration information.
The Public Procurement Law Association would like to invite students of Law and Administration Faculties to take part in the moot court competition entitled: “Client Representation before the KIO National Appeals Chamber”.
The competitors will take part in simulated KIO appellate proceedings concerning cases typically regulated by Public Procurement Law.
The competition’s award winners will get the chance to take part in trainee programs in one of the law firms supporting the competition, such as Bird & Bird, BSJP, Clifford Chance, Dentons, Domański Zakrzewski Palinka, Schampera Dubis Zając i Wspólnicy, Wardyński i Wspólnicy, and WKB Wierciński Kwieciński Baehr.
Our invitation is extended to teams of 2-6 students selected in qualifications run by participating universities, namely the Jagiellonian University (supervisor: Dr Aleksandra Sołtysińska), the University of Warsaw (supervisor: Dr hab. Piotr Bogdanowicz), the University of Lodz (supervisor: Dr Anna Górczyńska) and Poznan’s Mickiewicz University (prof. Dr hab. Katarzyna Kokocińska and Jarosław Kola).
Timeline:
To mark World Competition Day, the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection organized a conference styled “Effective Counteracting Market Conspiracy – Practice and Challenges” on 10 December 2019.
Aldona Kowalczyk, President of the Management Board of the Public Procurement Law Association, was invited by the Chairperson of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection to attend a discussion panel on “How to eliminate bid rigging. Synergy actions under competition law, public procurement law and criminal law”.
The conference was attended by representatives of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection and the Public Procurement Office, law enforcement authorities as well as businessmen and lawyers. Foreign experts included representatives of the European Commission, the Czech and the Israeli Competition Authorities.
More information about the conference agenda is available here.
Images received from the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
The October issue of “Zamówienia Publiczne DORADCA” monthly featured a report from the conference “Grounds for exclusion – practice followed in the EU and EFTA member states and the U.S.” presenting conclusions and selected parts of the report depicting the system of exclusions of contractors from public procurement procedures in Poland compared to the systems binding in other European states. The report was prepared by the Polish Public Procurement Association. The report along with other publications featured in the October issue of the DORADCA monthly will be available in just a few days in the LEGALIS Legal Information System.
On 21 October 2019 Rzeczpospolita daily published an interview with Aldona Kowalczyk, Jan Roliński and Wojciech Hartung, the representatives of the Polish Public Procurement Association.
The interview focused on the genesis and conclusions of the report of the Association presenting the system of exclusions of contractors from the public procurement proceedings in Poland compared to the systems binding in other European states.
With the consent of the speakers, the presentations delivered at the "Grounds for exclusion – application practice in EU/EFTA countries and USA" conference held on 30 September 2019 may be downloaded here:
On 30 September 2019, during the conference "Grounds for exclusion – application practice in EU/EFTA countries and USA" organized by the Public Procurement Law Association (PPLA), Dr hab. Piotr Bogdanowicz and Jan Roliński, representatives of the Management Board of the PPLA, presented a report comparing the systems for the exclusion of contractors from public procurement procedures in Poland and in other European countries.
The report provided a number of topics for discussion during the event. Polish and foreign public procurement experts discussed the differences, similarities and interpretations of provisions on the exclusion of contractors in the EU and domestic laws.
Partners of the conference included: C.H. Beck publishing house, Public Procurement Section of the Warsaw Bar Association and the Chair of European Law at the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw.
Selected presentations and conference materials will be made available on the PPLA’s website within the next few weeks.
Below is a list of speeches and discussions held during the conference:
The Public Procurement Law Association is pleased to announce that it will host a conference on "Grounds for exclusion – application practice in EU/EFTA countries and USA", on 30 September 2019, in Warsaw.
One of the key points of the conference will be the public unveiling of the Association’s report comparing the systems for the exclusion of contractors from public procurement procedures in Poland and in other European countries.
The conference programme also includes lectures and panels discussions on topics such as the various models of systems for the exclusion of contractors from public procurement procedures, the grounds for the exclusion of contractors and their practical application, as well as the effectiveness of such exclusion systems in the public procurement framework.
Attendees include experts on the theory and practice of public procurement law, including representatives of public authorities, as well as a number of international subject-matter specialists: Prof. Roberto Caranta (University of Turin), Prof. Christopher R. Yukins (George Washington University) and Collin David Swan (World Bank Office of Suspension and Debarment).
The conference will take place at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw, Collegium Iuridicum II building (ul. Lipowa 4, room A.2), and will start at 9:30 am. The full programme can be downloaded here.
The conference will be held in Polish, with simultaneous translation to English.
If you would like to take part in the conference, please complete the online application form (https://forms.gle/AjPjZiNQ1ZPMtxyv5) by 25 September.
Attendance is free of charge, however, due to the limited number of seats only registered attendees will be admitted.
The February issue of the monthly publication “Public Procurement ADVISER” contained an article in which Aldona Kowalczyk, Chairman of the Public Procurement Law Association’s Management Board, shares her first reflections on the draft of the new Public Procurement Law and cites the proposals made by the Association.
The whole article (in Polish) can be found below:
Public Procurement Law Association representatives have taken part in a consensus conference organised by the Ministry of Enterprise and Technology and the Public Procurement Office. The conference, which concerned the draft of the new Public Procurement Law, took place on 13-15 March 2019.
The lively three-day discussion covered, inter alia, exclusion from application of the law, grounds for excluding economic operators from contract award procedures, public contracts and remedies, and conciliation procedures.
The Association was happy to hear that the Ministry of Enterprise and Technology and the Public Procurement Office welcomed the changes to the draft proposed by the Association (the proposals are available here) during the legislative work. The Law is to come into force on 1 January 2020.
On 13 March 2019, the Public Procurement Law Association sent the Ministry of Justice comments on the amendments to art. 305 of the Criminal Code set out in draft amendments to the Criminal Code and certain other acts. The Public Procurement Law Association’s comments and proposals can be found here.
The Public Procurement Law Association also sent the Ministry of Enterprise and Technology and the Public Procurement Office two working documents in connection with the work underway on the new Public Procurement Law as regards compensation in public procurement and conciliation procedures. The full text of the materials can be found at: compensation and conciliation.
We would like to thank all the Association Members who were involved in preparing these documents.
Ten experts, a key systemic change and two hours of lively discussion were involved in the debate on “Revolution in procurement or new same old?”
On 21 February 2019, at the office of the Rzeczpospolita daily newspaper a debate was held on “Revolution in procurement or new same old?” attended by members of the bodies of the Public Procurement Law Association and representatives of the public administration involved in work on the draft of the new Public Procurement Law. Editor Tomasz Pietryga’s guests were Mariusz Haładyj, president of the Office of the General Counsel to the Republic of Poland, Hubert Nowak, President of the Public Procurement Office, Bogdan Artymowicz, Director of the Public Procurement Office Legal Department, Joanna Knapińska, Deputy Director at the Ministry of Enterprise and Technology, and Public Procurement Law Association representatives: Dr Piotr Bogdanowicz, Dr Wojciech Hartung, Aldona Kowalczyk, Mirella Lechna, Jan Roliński and Anna Specht-Schampera. The experts discussed recent systemic changes and attempted to answer the question of whether the proposed provisions meet market needs and to what extent, and how they will affect the market.
The Public Procurement Law Association is playing an active part in public consultations on the draft of the new Public Procurement Law and the debate was an excellent opportunity to put forward the Association’s position on key issues.
A record of the debate is available on Rzeczpospolita’s website.
During public consultations, the Public Procurement Law Association submitted comments on the draft of the Public Procurement Law. The text of the comments and proposals can be found in the file below.
We would like to thank all the Association Members who were involved in the work on this document.
On 23 January, a General Meeting of the Public Procurement Law Association was held. During the Meeting, the authorities of the Association were elected, plans for action in 2019 were discussed, and a summary was made of the Association’s activities in 2018.
Key events in 2018 include:
