Client of Robert Siwik’s law firm wins at the National Chamber of Appeals (NCA) in a case involving A4 motorway maintenance

19.12.2016 / Dr Robert Siwik

On 19.12.2016 the NCA accepted in the majority the arguments which were advanced as part of the appeal by the Polish Association of the Construction Sector Employers (PACSE) in the award of the contract for “the year-round full maintenance of the section of the A4 motorway from Rzeszów East (junction excluded) to Jarosław West (junction included) including all the ancillary infrastructure, administered by the General Road and Highway Authority, Rzeszów branch.” The NCA held that the share of PACSE’s participation, as set out in the original claim, in the supply of the relevant technical assets used for snow clearing was disproportionate to the value of the contract and distorted market competition; it further held that the subject matter of the contract regarding the required period of employment under a full-time employment agreement lacked rationale when viewed in terms of the contract. Furthermore, the NCA rejected in part the new contract evaluation criteria set by the contracting authority, specifically that referred to as ‘Contractual Independence’, which favoured independent completion of the contract (prohibiting subcontracting) or setting forth in Contract Description higher snow clearing equipment requirements than presented in the invitation to tender.
The client was represented by Robert Siwik’s law firm.
The successful outcome is a third win for the client represented by our law firm in challenging the terms of the Contract Notice for being a breach of the fundamental principles of public procurement law and a practice which harms the interests of members of PACSE.