PLN 1,200 difference – for belonging to the group

The website of the Bolesławiec Cultural Center–International Ceramics Center features two different application forms for exhibitors. The first, entitled “Form for Ceramists of the Bolesławiec Ceramic Brotherhood,” sets the fee for a pavilion at PLN 1,600. Meanwhile, the “Ceramists Application Form” for other producers lists a price of PLN 2,800 for exactly the same pavilion.

Difference: PLN 1,200, or 43% more.

The discount does not result from different technical conditions, location, or rental period. The sole condition for using the preferential price is membership in the so-called Bolesławiec Ceramic Brotherhood. However, it is not a formal association or foundation, has no legal personality, and does not appear in any register. It does not even have its own website.

A commission no one controls

The event regulations state that admission is decided by a “commission composed of representatives of BOK-MCC and the Ceramic Brotherhood.” It is not known, however:

  • who sits on the commission,
  • what criteria it uses to assess applications,
  • how an applicant can appeal a refusal.

The absence of any transparent verification rules raises legitimate doubts about the equal treatment of exhibitors – and the procedure’s compliance with Polish law.

Experts: this may be illegal differentiation of fees

The lawyers we spoke to have no doubts: a municipality (and, on its behalf, a cultural center) cannot use a discretionary criterion to set fees for commercial space. Yet the discount depends on membership in an organization that not everyone can join.

– Price preferences for local producers are possible if the criterion is clear and available to everyone, such as having a company headquarters in Bolesławiec County. But a discount exclusively for members of a private group that does not admit all producers from the region and has no clear rules violates the constitutional principle of equality before the law, says a lawyer specializing in public administration.

Under the Constitution of the Republic of Poland (Article 32) and the Code of Administrative Procedure (Article 8), all entities – including businesses – have the right to equal treatment by public administration bodies. In this case, the organizer acts on behalf of the city and uses municipal funds and space.

The lawyers we spoke to indicate that this practice may also violate:

  • Article 2 of the Entrepreneurs’ Law – a guarantee of equal conditions for conducting business activity;
  • Article 8 of the Act on the Implementation of Certain EU Provisions on Equal Treatment – a ban on unequal treatment in access to conducting business activity;
  • Article 107 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU – a ban on granting state aid without a legal basis.

Supervisory and legal action may also be possible – from intervention by the Lower Silesian Voivode, through a complaint to an administrative court, to proceedings by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection concerning unfair competition.

Will anyone respond?

Differentiating fees on the basis of undisclosed criteria may also be deemed a violation of competition-protection regulations. Such a case could be handled, among others, by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection or the Ombudsman for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

The Lower Silesian Voivode oversees the legality of municipal institutions’ actions and may repeal an unlawful price list or set of regulations.

What do the city authorities and the organizer say?

We sent questions to BOK-MCC and the City Office:

  • What justifies the discount only for Brotherhood members?
  • Are the criteria for admission to the Brotherhood publicly available?
  • Can participants from outside the group appeal a decision refusing them the cheaper space?

We are awaiting responses; so far, we have received no message from either the office or the cultural center.

Industry voices: “We feel discriminated against”

Some exhibitors from outside Bolesławiec say it directly: – We have been coming here for years. We pay more simply because we do not belong to the “local group,” which we have no way of joining anyway. It is not fair.

Will the Ceramic Festival remain an event open to everyone, or will it become a closed enclave for the chosen few? We will return to the subject once we obtain the position of the authorities and BOK–MCC.

Would you like to report a violation or do you have documents confirming the problem? Write to us at redakcja@istotne.pl