The Chamber infringed the law by amending the Code of Professional Conduct with a clause preventing its members from participation in tenders for design works where price was the sole selection criterion

The President of UOKiK initiated antitrust proceedings upon the request of one of Poznań architects who accused the professional organisation of restricting competition on the market. The President of UOKiK found that the Code of Professional Conduct adopted by the Chamber includes a provision that prevents Chamber members from offering architectural services in tenders where price is the sole selection criterion. The clause establishes a barrier for free-market price competition.

The membership in the organisation associating representatives of this profession of public trust is obligatory and the public tender is the most common way to acquire a commission, plus, in the majority of cases, price is the sole criterion. The provision in question eliminates the possibility to sell the works both by independent architects and by design agencies according to the abovementioned procedure.

In the opinion of UOKiK, the Chamber cannot prohibit participation of its members in tenders where price is the sole section criterion. Introduction of such conditions for the sale of architectural services results in a substantial distortion of competition rules on this market and is against the interest of investors, as it infringes their right to determine the manner and criteria of purchase of design works.

Therefore, the President of UOKiK deemed the Chamber’s action a restrictive practice and imposed upon it a fine of PLN 215,000. Such a financial sanction is to fulfil a preventive and repressive function since the challenged practices belong to the most serious violations of the antitrust legislation. However, the President of UOKiK took into account the fact that the Chamber abandoned the said practice in the course of UOKiK’s antitrust proceedings, which constituted mitigating circumstances when the amount of the fine was determined.

The decision is not legally binding and may be appealed against to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Additional information:
Elżbieta Anders, Spokesperson of UOKiK
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Tel. (+48 22) 827 28 92, 55 60 106, 55 60 314
faks (+48 22) 826 11 86
E-mail [SCODE]ZWFuZGVyc0B1b2tpay5nb3YucGw=[ECODE]