Supreme Administrative Court rules in favour of KŠB client in important decision02/09/14 / News

KŠB successfully represented its client in litigation with the Municipal Office of the City of Prague (the “Municipal Office”) regarding a land lease tender announced by the Municipal Office. After the Municipal Office chose another bidder, the client requested the Municipal Office to make available the bids submitted by other bidders based on its right of access to information.

The Municipal Office refused to disclose the bids. The Ministry of the Interior and the Municipal Court in Prague, in deciding on an administrative action, affirmed the Municipal Office’s approach. The Supreme Administrative Court, however, strongly rejected their conclusions. In its ruling on the client’s cassation complaint, the Court agreed with the objections which KŠB presented on behalf of its client. According to the ruling, the Czech Freedom of Information Act should be construed in harmony with the Directive of the European Parliament and the Council No. 2003/98/EC. As the Court stated, the directive requires public sector bodies to be transparent, which should also be reflected when interpreting the Czech act. Based on these facts, the Court came to the conclusion that the client’s request for the bids was justified.