Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka has successfully represented the City of Krakow Road Administration before Poland's National Appeal Chamber regarding a PPP project involving the design, construction, and operation of part of a tramway. The City of Krakow Road Administration was also represented by solo practitioner Marzena Juskiewicz.
According to DZP, “the private partner [on the project] filed an appeal against the Terms of Reference in connection with a breach of the Public Procurement Law, the Act on Public-Private Partnerships, and the Civil Code, inter alia, by the contracting authority using its dominant position and blatantly privileging itself, e.g., by the provisions of the PPP agreement on the division of certain risks, the status of the investor, and the procedure for concluding transactions securing the risk of fluctuations in interest rate.”
The National Appeal Chamber dismissed the appeal in its entirety.
DZP also reports that, “the Contracting Authority indicated that the law had not been breached. The questioned provisions of the PPP agreement do not lead to the contracting authority being excessively privileged and they strike a fair balance between the interests of the parties. For example, on the one hand, the PPP agreement contains a number of so-called compensation events for the private partner and, on the other, it provides for a competitive procedure for concluding the transactions for the security required by the public party in a long-term contract.”
Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka’s team included Senior Associates Michal Wojciechowski and Michal Przychoda. The firm previously advised the Polish Ministry of Development on the same project (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on June 16, 2017).