Legal Services at the Na Homolce Hospital

In compliance with the law on free access to information, in May 2010 TIC requested the Na Homolce Hospital to provide copies of contracts and other documents related to the tender process for provision of legal services. The Na Homolce Hospital denied TIC’s request, whereas its justification seemed to be driven by its own interests. TIC filed an appeal against the hospital’s decision to the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, which is the hospital’s superior body. After several months the Ministry decided in favour of TIC’s appeal and annulled the hospital’s decision and also ordered it to undertake the matter once again. Subsequently the hospital provided TIC with further information, on the basis of which the aforestated motion was filed.

The Na Homolce Hospital’s approach to information provision was very irregular from the very outset of the case. In the opinion of TIC, the available documents also clearly show that the hospital’s tender process for a law firm was in conflict with the act on public contracts. The Office for the Protection of Competition reviewed TIC’s motion for more than six months. On 24 June, 2011 we received a memo stating that the Office had commenced administrative proceedings on the matter. TIC will continue to monitor developments in the issue.