Write to us: kontakt@stowarzyszeniepzp.pl
Write to us: kontakt@stowarzyszeniepzp.pl
In today's supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily regarding case law, an article titled "In tenders, you have to count on the worst-case scenario" was published. The co-author is Anna Specht-Schampera, a member of the SPZP board.
The content of the publication is also available in the electronic version of the daily.
On December 6, 2022, at the headquarters of the District Bar Council in Warsaw, the final oral stage of the III edition of the tournament for students of law and administration faculties - Moot Court: "Legal representation in proceedings before the National Chamber of Appeal" took place.
The tournament was organized by the Association of Public Procurement Law. The President of the Public Procurement Office - Hubert Nowak, who took part in the award ceremony, took the honorary patronage over the III edition.
The Association of Public Procurement Law and the Section of Public Procurement Law of the District Bar Council in Warsaw were the founders of the cash prizes for taking first place.
The Public Procurement Office offered a prize in the form of unpaid internships for members of both teams - the finalists of the tournament. In addition, 2-3 month paid internships for members of the teams - finalists of the tournament, were offered by the following law firms:
This year's tournament was divided into two parts. Teams from five universities took part in the competition:
Team 1 - Adam Mickiewicz University (supervisor: Dr. Jarosław Kola)
Jakub Derda
Aleksandra Grabowska,
Maksymilian Nagalski,
Szymon Siuda,
Karol Wundziński.
Team 2 - University of Warsaw (supervisor: Prof. UW Dr. Piotr Bogdanowicz)
Jakub Szymanowski,
Filip Marczyk,
Marcin Gorzkowski,
Patryk Stankiewicz,
Wiktor Ołdak.
Team 3 - University of Białystok (supervisor: Dr. Renata Tanajewska)
Natalia Kozłowska,
Krystian Kruszyński.
Team 4 - University of Łódź (supervisor: Dr. Anna Górczyńska)
Karolina Krupińska,
Wincent Chrapowicki,
Peter Kozicki,
Michał Płuska,
Szymon Zasina.
Team 5 - University of Szczecin (supervisor: Martyna Wójcik)
Katarzyna Rytwińska,
Alicja Ziemlińska,
Jakub Waszkiewicz.
In the first stage of the competition, the quality of legal argumentation and its presentation, as well as the formal correctness of the letters, were taken into account when assessing the procedural letters. The final part involved the teams participating as representatives of the parties in a simulated hearing before the National Appeals Chamber (KIO).
The competition was judged by the Jury consisting of:
Jan Kuzawiński - Vice President of the National Appeals Chamber,
Ewa Kisiel - representative of the Section of Public Procurement Law of the District Bar Council in Warsaw,
Sylwester Kuchnio - member of the Association of Public Procurement Law,
Wojciech Merkwa - member of the Association of Public Procurement Law.
The final of the competition resembled real struggles before the KIO. Evaluating the oral performances, the jurors took into account not only their substantive level, but also coolness and the ability to react to questions from the members of the jury and the accuracy of the replies.
The results of the III edition of the Moot Court tournament: "Representation in proceedings before the National Appeals Chamber" are as follows:
1st place - University of Warsaw
2nd place - University of Szczecin
"We are glad that the third edition of the competition, which is part of the educational mission of our Association, has again met with such great interest. We hope that our Moot Court will contribute to the increase in popularity of public procurement law among students and encourage them to link their career path with this area of law" - added Aldona Kowalczyk, President of the Board of the Association.
Congratulations to the Winners and all Participants!
In today's supplement to the Rzeczpospolita newspaper, focusing on jurisprudence, an article titled "Contractual Penalty as a Ground for Exclusion" was published. The author of the article is Mirella Lechna-Marchewka, a board member of SPZP.
The content of the publication is also available in the electronic version of the newspaper.
The Organiser has amended the tournament timetable, adopting the following chronology of the upcoming competition stages (changes from the existing Timetable are marked in red):
Timetable:
Today's supplement to Rzeczpospolita on case-law features an article entitled 'How to become an ordering party that never loses', authored by Tomasz Zalewski, a member of the SPZP audit committee.
The article is also available in the electronic version of Rzeczpospolita.
We would like to inform you that, after analysing and assessing all of the appeals, the competition jury has decided that the team from the University of Szczecin will progress to the next stage. This team’s appeal, as that which was most highly evaluated, will be forwarded to the teams which were assigned the role of the ordering party to prepare a response.
The appeal prepared by the students from the University of Szczecin was selected and assessed as being the best in terms of the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the allegations put forward, as well as the adequacy and proportionality of the grounds drawn up. Also noteworthy were the remarkable professionalism and "legal sense" at this stage of professional development.
The jury also highly assessed the draft appeals sent by the law faculty teams from the Adam Mickiewicz University and the University of Białystok. The jury particularly appreciates the originality and creativity shown by the students in putting forward their appeals and justification.
We congratulate all the teams on a job well done and express the hope that it was a developing adventure and will bear fruit during their future careers.
1. The excerpt from the ToR which has been made available does not contain a passage on the optional grounds for exclusion. Should it be assumed that the Contracting Authority in the documentation of the proceedings provided for the exclusion of the contractor under Article 109(1)(10) of the PPL Act?
Answer: YES, it should be assumed that the Contracting Authority in the documentation of the proceedings provided for the exclusion of the contractor under Article 109 (1) (10) of the PPL Act.
2. May the Employer's/Contractor's representatives act as professional proxies, i.e. be named and sign as e.g. Legal Adviser/Attorney Jan Kowalski?
Answer: Yes. They can.
Almost two years after the law came into force, enough time has passed to examine if the "new" Public Procurement Law has lived up to expectations.
At the conference "2 years of new PPL – an analysis of the experience gained and proposed changes" - together with members of the Association and representatives of authorities and institutions involved in the public procurement system, contracting authorities, and contractors - we exchanged views on problematic issues related to the current solutions in the PPL Act and the direction of necessary changes.
We would like to thank all the experts who accepted the invitation to participate in the panels at the Association's conference for their substantive and constructive discussions. As the Association, we see a need to start a public debate now and develop solutions that will serve all participants in the public procurement market.
In accordance with the regulations of the 3rd edition of the Moot Court tournament: “Legal representation before the National Appeals Chamber” announced by the Public Procurement Law Association, we present the student teams that have entered, the tournament case studies, and the composition of the jury:
Team 1 - Adam Mickiewicz University (supervisor: Dr Jarosław Kola)
Jakub Derda
Aleksandra Grabowska,
Maksymilian Nagalski,
Szymon Siuda,
Karol Wundziński.
Team 2 - University of Warsaw (supervisor: Prof. UW Dr. Piotr Bogdanowicz)
Jakub Szymanowski,
Filip Marczyk,
Marcin Gorzkowski,
Patryk Stankiewicz,
Wiktor Ołdak.
Team 3 - University of Białystok (supervisor: Dr Renata Tanajewska)
Natalia Kozłowska,
Krystian Kruszyński.
Team 4 - University of Łódź (supervisor: Dr Anna Górczyńska)
Karolina Krupińska,
Vincent Chrapowicki,
Peter Kozicki,
Michał Płuska,
Szymon Zasina.
Team 5 - University of Szczecin (supervisor: Martyna Wójcik)
Katarzyna Rytwińska,
Alicja Ziemlińska,
Jakub Waszkiewicz.
Files with case descriptions can be downloaded by clicking the link.
Assignment of litigation roles for each team below:
Appellant - Teams no. 1, 3 and 5
Contracting Authority - Teams 2 and 4
The composition of the Jury is as follows:
Today's supplement to Rzeczpospolita concerning case-law features an article entitled "Sometimes it is necessary to make an autocorrection of the selection of the most advantageous offer", authored by Żaneta Urbaniak, member of the SPZP.
The text of the publication is available here.
In today's supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily on jurisprudence, an article entitled “There are four provisions that are unacceptable” was published by Dr Andrzej Czerniak, a member of the SPZP.
The text of the publication is available here.
Today's Rzeczpospolita supplement on case law features two articles by members of the SPZP:
The Public Procurement Law Association cordially invites students of law and administration faculties to participate in the third edition of the Moot Court tournament: 'Legal representation before the National Appeals Chamber'.
The organiser of the competition is the Public Procurement Law Association, and the partner is the Public Procurement Law Section of the District Bar Council in Warsaw.
The President of the Public Procurement Office assumes honorary patronage over the third edition of the tournament. This year's edition of the tournament has a special character as the final will be held in the month in which the National Appeal Chamber celebrates its 15th anniversary.
The tournament consists of a simulation of proceedings before the NAC based on case studies involving issues concerning the conduct of public procurement proceedings under Public Procurement Law provisions.
We invite teams of 2-5 participants with their tutors, selected by universities in their qualification processes. Supervisors who wish to enter their teams are asked to do so by completing application forms and sending them to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We anticipate a cash prize of PLN 6,000 for the first place team, funded jointly by the Public Procurement Law Association and the Warsaw Bar Association.
The prize of an unpaid internship for the members of the winning team was offered by the Public Procurement Office. In addition, 2/3-month paid internships for the participants of the teams, the finalists of the tournament, were offered by law firms:
Schedule:
We encourage you to participate in the XIII Scientific Conference on Public Procurement entitled ‘Public procurement - role, challenges, perspectives. 15 years of KIO in the public procurement system’, organised by the Public Procurement Office together with the Faculty of Law and Administration of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan.
The conference will be held on 27 September 2022 in Poznań in a hybrid format (stationary and online). Members of the Public Procurement Law Association will participate in debates and speeches during the event:
The aim of the conference is to discuss the role, challenges, and prospects of public procurement, including its relevance to a country's strategic development goals.
You can find out more about the event and how to participate on the UZP website.
On the occasion of the conference, we would like to draw your attention to the #CrowdSourcingPZP project, as part of which, UZP encourages you to share your insights on the challenges facing Polish law and the public procurement system. You can find the details here.
SAVE THE DATE: the SPZP conference '2 years of the new PPL - analysis of the lessons learned, proposed changes'.
Warsaw, 25 October 2022.
Just before the outbreak of the pandemic, the new Public Procurement Law came into force and, with it, came new problems and challenges in our daily work. As part of a discussion at a stationary conference organised by our Association in Warsaw, to which we invite you on 25 October, we will look at the after effects of its application.
We have divided the event into the following panel discussions:
1. Preparation and conduct of the procedure (including the cancellation of the procedure).
2. Evaluation of tenders.
3. Public procurement contracts.
4. Sectorial contracts and contracts in the fields of defence and security.
5. Legal remedies.
6. The above issues, even if they do not cover all aspects of the application of the Public Procurement Law that we encounter on a daily basis, are, in our view, the most important.
We will soon provide details of the time, venue, conference programme, and registration. In the meantime, we encourage you to reserve the date in your calendar today.
Today's Rzeczpospolita supplement on case law features two articles by SPZP members:
In today's supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily's jurisprudence supplement, an article entitled 'The strategic importance of public procurement' was published by Prof. UMK Dr. (hab.) Paweł Nowicki, a member of the SPZP.
The text of the publication is available here.
In today's supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily's jurisprudence supplement, an article entitled 'The current valorisation clause is not perfect' was published by Jaroslaw Jerzykowski, a member of the SPZP.
The text of the publication is available here.
Today's supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily on case-law features an article entitled ‘What is and what is not a mistake in the wording of a bid bond?’ co-authored by Agnieszka Gilowska, Member of the SPZP.
The text of the publication is available here.
Today's supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily on case-law features an article entitled ‘"What is and what is not a mistake in the wording of a bid bond?",’ co-authored by Agnieszka Gilowska, Member of the SPZP.
The text of the publication is available here.
An article entitled ‘Tender collusion in completed proceedings,’ authored by Michal Gajdek, Member of the SPZP, appeared in the latest supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily newspaper on case law.
The text of the publication is available here.
The Public Procurement Law Association and the publishing house, Wiedza i Praktyka, invite you to the debate:
"Amendments to procurement contracts in the era of war, inflation, and pandemics".
The event will take place on 31 May 2022 from 10:00 to 12:00
In awarding and executing public contracts in the special conditions related to the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the extraordinary increases in the prices and costs of work, huge challenges are posed even for the most experienced participants in the public procurement market. Representatives of public institutions, contracting authorities and contractors, experts, and practitioners are invited to participate in the debate that will discuss the problems of adapting contracts concluded under the public procurement regime to the changing circumstances. We encourage you to participate in this event and we hope that our discussion will contribute to a broader debate on the practice of applying the available legal solutions and the possible need to change them:
The debate will be moderated by the SPZP representatives: Aldona Kowalczyk, Anna Specht-Schampera, Dr Piotr Bogdanowicz, and Jarosław Sroka.
The guests taking part in the debate will be:
- Mariusz Haładyj, President of the Polish General Prosecutor's Office and member of the Public Procurement Council;
- Marcin Grabski, Head of the Legal Department, City Roads Authority;
- Mariusz Ciosek, Coordinator of the Public Procurement Team in the Department of Economic Regulation Improvement, Ministry of Development;
- Ewa Wiktorowska, Member of the Public Procurement Council;
- Dariusz Renczyński, President of the Regional Chamber of Accounts in Białystok; and
- Marek Orlik, Director of the Dragados/Polaqua Legal Department.
For more information and to register, please click here.
The latest supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily concerning case law features an article entitled "Adjustments to a Contractor's Remuneration". This was authored by the SPZP member, Katarzyna Skiba-Kuraszkiewicz.
The text of the publication is available here.
In the latest supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily concerning case law, an article was published entitled "Estimating the value of orders - errors and doubts". The article was written by Andrzej Czerniak, a member of the SPZP.
The text of the publication is available here.
On 20 April 2022, the Public Procurement Law Association (SPZP) submitted a position paper as part of the consultation on the project "A Green Paper on the Certification of Public Procurement Contractors" to the Ministry of Development and Technology.
The Green Paper aims to present the basic assumptions concerning the principles of the functioning of the certification of contractors in the public procurement system, to define its beneficiaries, and other entities involved in the certification process.
The position paper was prepared by a team of three SPZP members: Wojciech Merkwa (coordinating the work of the team), Katarzyna Skiba-Kuraszkiewicz, and Tomasz Zalewski.
The full text of the SPZP's position can be found at this link.
In today's supplement to Rzeczpospolita, the article "Knowledge and experience can be made available" was published. The article was written by Marcin Boczek, a member of the SPZP.
You can read the publication by clicking here.
In today's supplement to Rzeczpospolita, the article "When it is possible to stipulate that certain tasks are to be performed by one company and not another" was published. The article was written by Agnieszka Gilowska, a member of the SPZP.
You can read the publication by clicking here.
We invite you to read the article written by Katarzyna Kuźma and Wojciech Merkwa entitled "Circumstances of exclusion in public procurement law". The article is a summary of the debate that took place on 18 January 2011.
The article is a summary of the debate held on 18 January which was organised by Konfederacja Lewiatan and the Public Procurement Law Association. The discussion focused on the effects of the new wording of a provision of Public Procurement Law on the public procurement system, providing for the possibility to exclude a contractor from a procedure due to problems with the performance of other contracts.
In today's supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily regarding jurisprudence, the article "Public-private partnerships should have clear rules" was published. It was authored by Irena Skubiszak-Kalinowska, a member of the SPZP.
You can read the publication by clicking here.
(last update - 22 march 2022)
Dear All,
A very large number of people from Ukraine are now coming to Poland to find shelter from the war. It is obvious that, apart from individual aid measures, the size of the tragedy and its effects require the involvement of state institutions. In particular, the process of organising direct support may sometimes require applying the provisions of the Act of 11 September 2019 – Public Procurement Law (“PPL”).
With this in mind, in a sense of responsibility and solidarity, we present key practical information which may be useful to entities having the status of a contracting authority under the PPL. To ensure the document's communicativeness, we present the prepared explanations in the form of 10 practical questions and concise answers.
If you identify any further difficulties or need further clarifications, please contact us at the following Association e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. On a free-of-charge basis, we will try to answer any questions concerning the PPL aspects related to the procedure of awarding public contracts by Polish contracting authorities as part of direct support to persons affected by the acts of war in Ukraine.
The PPL issues of key practical importance for the efficient provision, in the public procurement system, of aid due to a humanitarian crisis include:
1. Are there specific regulations for awarding contracts in the case of a humanitarian crisis?
No, as at the date of the publication of the statement, no regulations have been enacted that would regulate the award of public contracts to counter the negative effects of the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.
However, we would like to remind you that, in 2015, the European Commission published Communication COM (2015) 454 “on Public Procurement rules in connection with the current asylum crisis”. This document is a useful source of practical information on which the information contained in this statement is also based.
Link to the European Commission Communication.
2. When is it necessary to apply the PPL’s provisions?
The application of the PPL’s provisions is obligatory only if the following conditions are (jointly) met:
3. Who is obliged to apply the PPL’s provisions?
The status of a contracting authority, i.e. the entity obliged to apply the PPL, is held by the entities referred to in Articles 4-6 of the PPL. A detailed analysis of this status may be problematic. In view of the challenges faced, it is important to emphasize that such a status is held, in particular, by:
4. Are foundations obliged to apply the PPL’s provisions?
This doubt is relatively common for foundations which receive public funding for their activities. The mere fact of obtaining a grant or other form of support to implement a specific project does not create an obligation to apply the PPL’s provisions. What is crucial is the nature of the financial aid. According to the valid opinion of the President of the Public Procurement Office, such an obligation arises where the support consists of financing the foundation’s general functioning. However, such an obligation does not arise where the support from public funds covers a specific project’s implementation.
Link to the opinion of the President of the Public Procurement Office.
5. What value of contracts require the PPL’s provisions to be applied?
If contracting authorities are public institutions (in particular, local government units and government administration authorities), the threshold for the mandatory application of the PPL’s provisions is PLN 130,000.
For “sectoral contracting” authorities, this threshold is:
- PLN 1,919,502 for supplies and services contracts,
- PLN 4,453,600 for social services contracts, and
- PLN 23,969,275 for construction works contracts.
The conclusion of contracts with a value lower than the amounts specified above does not require the PPL’s provisions to be applied. All the amounts given above are exclusive of VAT.
6. How to estimate the contract value?
The contract value is determined based on the economic operator's total estimated remuneration excluding value added tax (VAT), determined with due diligence. If the contracting authority has recently awarded contracts similar to those it intends to award in connection with the organisation of aid to Ukrainians and Ukraine, doubts may arise as to whether, to estimate the value of the contract, both “purchases” should not be aggregated.
If the contracting authority demonstrates that it could not foresee the need to award another, similar contract, then the condition of the time concurrency test would not be met. In such a situation, there will also be no obligation to jointly estimate the value of the contracts.
7. Is it necessary to apply the PPL’s provisions whenever the estimated value of the contract exceeds the de minimis threshold?
In these circumstances, there may be more frequent situations where, even despite the value of the contract exceeding the de minimis threshold, it will not be necessary to apply the PPL’s provisions to award the contract. Exceptions with a particular potential for use include:
7a. Have any special solutions been implemented in the area of public procurement law in connection with the war in Ukraine?
Yes, the Act of 12 March 2022 implemented solutions on assisting Ukrainian nationals regarding the armed conflict in the territory of Ukraine (“Special Act”) which, as regards the award of contracts, entered into force on the date of its publication, i.e. with effect from 24 February 2022.
The Special Act’s provisions provide for exemptions from the obligation to apply the PPL’s provisions when concluding agreements necessary to perform the following tasks:
However, one may estimate that the exemption laid down in Section 12 paragraph 6 of the Special Act will be of crucial practical importance. Under that provision, the PPL will not apply to public contracts necessary to provide assistance consisting of:
However, it is important that the subjective scope of this exemption has been precisely indicated and many ordering parties will not be eligible for its application.
It may be used by:
It should also be emphasised that only the agreements necessary to provide the assistance referred to above as well as those necessary to communicate the assistance addressed to Ukrainian citizens are covered by the exemption. When concluding an agreement based on an exemption, it is obligatory to publish, in the Public Procurement Bulletin, information on the factual circumstances justifying its application as well as to provide:
8. If there are no grounds to exclude the application of the PPL’s provisions, is it necessary to organise an open, formalised procedure, e.g. an open tender?
In these circumstances, in many cases, it will be possible to use the single-source procurement procedure whereby the contracting authority awards the contract after negotiations with only one economic operator under Article 214(1)(5) of the PPA. Under that provision, the procedure in question may be applied where, due to an exceptional situation not resulting from reasons attributable to the contracting authority which it could not have foreseen, urgent execution of the contract is required and the time limits specified for the other procurement procedures cannot be complied with.
Before applying that prerequisite, it is always necessary to consider in detail whether all the conditions listed under Article 214(1)(5) have been met. The reasonable solution is to provide as detailed factual and legal justification as possible.
However, it may be assumed that, in the current circumstances, the demonstration of those grounds should not cause particular difficulties. In this regard, the guidelines contained in the above-mentioned Communication of the European Commission (COM (2015) 454), the extracts of which are cited below, are helpful and should certainly be worth using in formulating a justification to apply the aforesaid provision:
The formal obligations of the contracting authority that awards a contract is limited to inviting the successful tenderer to negotiations, keeping a record of the procedure, concluding a contract, and publishing a notice. From 1 January 2021, the application of the single-source procurement procedure does not require, in any respect, notifying the President of the Public Procurement Office of such a procedure being initiated.
9. In the case of a decision to organise a competitive procedure (e.g. an open tender), is it possible to speed up the procurement process in relation to the default schedule resulting from the PPL’s provisions?
In some situations, the contracting authority may consider that the optimal solution is not to award a contract on a single-source basis, but to organise a competitive procedure. However, in such circumstances, the contracting authority does not have to worry about the necessity to organise a long-lasting procedure.
In particular, due to the urgent need to award a public contract, there is a possibility to shorten the time limit for the submission of applications for admission to the tender procedure or the time limit for the submission of tenders.
Furthermore, the identification of the urgent need justifies the application of a negotiated procedure without publication (Article 209(1)(4) of the PPA). This is a procedure whereby a contracting authority negotiates the terms of a public procurement contract with economic operators of its choice and then invites them to submit their tenders. Therefore, this is a reasonable solution because although the contracting authority intends to obtain the most advantageous tender during the competitive rivalry between economic entities, it wants to limit their circle to only a few selected economic operators.
In the case of sectoral contracting authorities, the power under Article 393(1)(1) of the PPA may also be a specific instrument to make procedures more flexible and less formalised. That provision allows an abstention from applying obligatory grounds for exclusion and therefore, demanding subjective requests for subjective evidence relating to those grounds.
10. Will the initiation of appeal proceedings by lodging an appeal with the National Board of Appeals always entail an extension of the procedure?
The contracting authority’s activities may be challenged by economic operators as being non-compliant with the PPL’s provisions by lodging an appeal with the National Board of Appeal (“KIO”). If an appeal is lodged, the conclusion of a public procurement contract before the resolution of the appeal proceedings will, in principle, be impossible.
However, where an appeal is lodged at the stage following the selection of the most advantageous tender, the contracting authority may have, at its disposal, an instrument enabling the conclusion of the contract despite the appeal being lodged. Namely, under Article 578(2) of the PPA, it is possible to submit a request to the KIO to repeal the ban on the conclusion of the contract which the KIO will take into account if:
It is worth noting that, based on the KIO’s jurisprudence to date, convincing arguments can be formulated that the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine would be the basis for lifting the ban on concluding the contract, which obviously, in specific circumstances, requires detailed justification.
In the latest supplement to the Rzeczpospolita daily concerning jurisprudence, an article was published titled, "The submitted parts of financial statements must have a specific form". The article was authored by Sylwester Kuchnio, a member of the SPZP.
The text of the publication is available here.
