Public procurement lawyer

Radkiewicz Lawyers Poland offers legal support in tender procedures. We draw up legal opinions on the application of public procurement laws. Our firm provides assistance in negotiations of contract terms and conditions and advises on disputed issues related to contract performance. We represent clients in proceedings before the National Appeals Chamber. On behalf of our clients, we lodge appeals with the National Appeals Chamber or file complaints to the Regional Court in Warsaw – Public Procurement Court. We prepare regulations for clients who are not required to comply with the Public Procurement Law, specifying their procedures for ordering goods or services. 

Procedures in which public procurement contracts are awarded

The Act of 11 September 2019 – Public Procurement Law provides for the following contract award procedures: 

1. open procedure – all interested economic operators may submit their tenders in response to a public contract notice;
2. restricted procedure – economic operators request to participate in a tender in response to a public contract notice and tenders may be submitted only by economic operators invited to tender;
3. negotiated procedure with prior publication of a contract notice – the contracting authority publishes a contract notice and then invites economic operators admitted to participating in the procedure to submit initial tenders; it should be stressed that initial tenders do not include the price; instead, the contracting authority negotiates with the economic operators and only then invites them to submit final tenders;
4. competitive dialogue – after the publication of a contract notice, the contracting authority conducts a dialogue with the economic operators of its choice on their proposed solutions and invites them to submit tenders; 
5. innovation partnership – the contracting authority, in response to a public contract notice, invites economic operators to submit initial tenders, negotiates with them and subsequently invites them to submit tenders for research and development with a view to developing and selling an innovative product, service or works not available on the market;
6. negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice – the contracting authority negotiates the terms and conditions of a public procurement contract with the economic operators of its choice and invites them to submit tenders;
7. single source procurement – the contract is awarded by the contracting authority after the negotiations being conducted with only one economic operator.

The basic public procurement procedure is the open procedure. 

The Public Procurement Law specifies in detail the circumstances determining the use of a specific public procurement procedure. For example, competitive dialogue is used if the contracting authority is seeking for solutions adapted to its needs.

Radkiewicz Lawyers Poland, as a public procurement law firm, assists both the contracting authorities and the economic operators in all the public procurement procedures described above.

When are public procurement laws not applicable?

The Public Procurement Law provides for exemptions from its applicability in certain matters, including:

1. arbitration services;
2. legal services consisting in legal representation before international courts or tribunals;
3. purchasing broadcasting materials;
4. purchasing airtime;
5. purchasing real estate.

Radkiewicz Lawyers Poland will help you determine which services/deliveries are subject to the provisions of the Public Procurement Law and which ones can be provided without a tender procedure.

Can anyone take part in a public procurement procedure?

Legal regulations provide for two modes in which an economic operator can be excluded from a public procurement procedure; the exclusion may be either mandatory or optional for the contracting authority.

According to the law, an exclusion from the public procurement procedure is mandatory in relation to such economic operators as:

1. an economic operator convicted of a fiscal offence, fraud, bribery and offences against the credibility of a document;
2. an economic operator against which a final judgement or decision on tax arrears has been issued;
3. an economic operator being a party to an agreement aimed at distorting competition entered into with other economic operators;
4. an economic operator banned from tendering for public procurement contracts by a final and binding judgement.

An economic operator may be excluded by the contracting party if, among other reasons:

1. liquidation has been opened in relation to such economic operator;
2. such economic operator has failed to perform a contract in its entirety or has performed it improperly due to gross negligence or intentional action;
3. such economic operator has provided information in a public contract award procedure that mislead the contracting authority;
4. such economic operator has obtained confidential information that might have given it an advantage in the tender procedure;
5. such economic operator has been convicted of an offence or a minor offence against employee rights.

Radkiewicz Lawyers Poland provides legal assistance to clients who have been unjustifiably excluded from tender procedures. 

Public procurement contract

In principle, a public procurement contract should be concluded in writing or it shall otherwise be null and void.

Such contract should specify, in particular:

1) the planned completion date of a delivery, service or works;

2) the remuneration, including the payment conditions;

3) the amount of contractual penalties, including their total maximum amount.

As a rule, a public procurement contract is executed for a fixed term. Only exceptionally may it be concluded for an indefinite period of time, for example if it concerns computer software licences. 

Polish Public Procurement Office – President of the Office and the National Appeals Chamber

Public Procurement Office – Role and Functions

The public authority responsible for supervising the correct conduct of public procurement procedures is the President of the Public Procurement Office. Among other tasks, the President takes decisions on individual cases, controls the award of contracts, issues the Public Procurement Bulletin in which public contract notices are published and offers a legal remedy system.  In addition, the correct conduct of public contract award procedures is supervised by the National Appeals Chamber.

Legal remedies – appeals and complaints to the court 

Legal remedies in public procurement cases are available both to economic operators and participants to contract award procedures, as well as to any other entities with an interest in obtaining the contract or which have suffered or may suffer damage caused by the contracting authority’s breach of the Public Procurement Law. 

An appeal may be filed against: 

1. an action of the contracting authority taken in the course of the contract award procedure contrary to the provisions of the Public Procurement Law;
2. the contracting authority’s failure to act in a tender procedure;
3. an entity’s failure to carry out a tender procedure despite the obligation to do so.

Appeals should be lodged with the President of the National Appeals Chamber in writing or in electronic form. The lodging of an appeal means that the contracting authority cannot conclude a public procurement contract before the appeal has been decided. 

The decision of the National Appeals Chamber may be challenged by means of a complaint filed within 14 days, via the President of the National Appeals Chamber, with the regional court having local jurisdiction over the ordering authority.

Public Procurement Lawyers in Poland

Radkiewicz Lawyers Poland is a public procurement law firm operating in and around the Warsaw area. We offer legal assistance in all public procurement procedures, including the open procedure and the restricted procedure. Our law firm draws up legal opinions on the practical application of public procurement regulations. We represent clients in proceedings before the National Appeals Chamber and provide assistance in negotiations of the terms and conditions of public procurement contracts. We are located at Złota 59 Street in Warsaw. To contact us by phone, please call at: +48 22 489 52 65.