Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has received honourable mention in a competition organised by the International Competition Network (ICN) and the World Bank for the best competition law advocacy project.

UOKiK has been honoured for publishing and promoting a guidebook for cemetery administrators and funeral services companies on complying with competition law. In naming UOKiK, the contest organisers said that the Office’s overall programme has allowed consumers access to cheaper services offered by a larger number of competing companies.

The guidebook contains a description of the cemetery and funeral services market, examples of prohibited practices under the jurisprudence of the courts and UOKiK’s decisions, as well as advice on how to follow the law. The document was provided to municipalities and parishes to help cemetery administrators. UOKiK keeps a close eye on the funeral services market, and the publication was accompanied by a call for administrators to refrain from competition restricting practices. For the most part, the entities operating on the market have voluntarily changed their practices.

The 2015-2016 Competition Advocacy Contest: How to Build a Culture of Competition for Private Sector Development and Economic Growth is being organised by the ICN in cooperation with the World Bank Group. The antitrust authorities of the countries that cooperate within the ICN presented examples of successful campaigns aimed at creating a competitive environment for enterprises through ’informal interventions’, such as educational campaigns.

Additional information for the media:

Press Office, UOKiK
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw
Phone.: +48 22 827 28 92, +48 22 55 60 314, +48 22 55 60 430
E-mail: [SCODE]Yml1cm9wcmFzb3dlQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]

Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL