The Public Procurement Law Association has presented the results of a questionnaire concerning measures of legal protection enjoyed by contractors in public procurement proceedings. Most of the contractors represented were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); however responses to the questionnaires were also received from large enterprises. Over half of the respondents indicated that the fee for an appeal to the National Appeals Chamber is appropriate, however, about 40% found it to be too high. As it turns out, this has a direct impact on further actions, as for 40% of respondents the amount of the fee is an obstacle to their filing an appeal. The problem is even more fundamental in the case of appeals against rulings handed down by the National Appeals Chamber filed with the court – for 66% of respondents the amount of the fee prevented them (at least once) from taking advantage of the above remedy. In addition, 66% of contractors also found the fee to be too high. 75% of contractors have not filed a complaint against a ruling of the National Appeals Chamber. As many as 20% of contractors received an advantageous court ruling and yet they were still not awarded the contract. Despite this, none of them have taken any steps in order to obtain compensation from the awarding authority.

The contractors presented very important issues concerning the present appeal system which significantly prevents them from pursuing their rights. The legislator may benefit from the survey’s key conclusions in connection with the pending works on the new public procurement law. The survey shows that for the majority of respondents, including in particular the MSEs, access to the appeal measures is hindered by overly high costs. The question of whether fixed thresholds are really necessary continues to be valid.

In addition, the contractors encountered problems with the application of court rulings by the awarding authorities. The report underlines key problems faced by contractors in the current legal environment and provokes a discussion before the planned legal changes concerning measures of legal protection are enacted.

A file presenting a detailed analysis of the results of the questionnaire is available for download below.