Hedgehog: The dispute over the new library can only be decided by the court

Prague - The dispute over the competition for the new building of the National Library (NK) in Prague may, according to director Vlastimil Ježek, be decided only by the court. Whether they will turn to the court, they do not want to predict for now. We will have clarity only when we know the official position of the European Commission or the antitrust office, Ježek said today in a phone interview with ČTK.
This week, the Czech antitrust office received a position from the European Commission, which it had requested, via fax. According to the Commission, the competition, in which architect Jan Kaplický succeeded with his controversial design, was in violation of the law. The Office for the Protection of Economic Competition (ÚOHS) will likely recommend to the library that it cancel the original competition based on the Commission's opinion.
"The architectural competition can probably only be canceled by the National Library, but there is no reason for that yet. I need to consult with my lawyers. If they insist on their original opinion, then the only authoritative body capable of (dispute) deciding is the court," Ježek said.
The antitrust office has been dealing with the library dispute several times since last year. However, each time it rejected complaints about the illegality of the competition, stating that an architectural competition for a design does not have to be governed by the public procurement law.
"Moreover, ÚOHS refuses to give the library copies of what has come from Brussels, so it is difficult... But we would like to see what arrived," Ježek said. Therefore, the National Library will officially request the provision of the document no later than Monday.
The European Commission decided that the UNESCO rules and the International Union of Architects (UIA) rules are not rules of an international organization that could replace the procedure according to applicable laws. According to the law, the antitrust office cannot cancel the architectural competition, so it will only issue a recommendation for now, said Jindřiška Koblihová, the deputy chairwoman of the office, to ČTK on Thursday.
"I have no official information regarding the EC's position. My standard opinion is that we should proceed according to the law of the Czech Republic. If it came from the EC that the public procurement law should have been followed, then not many options remain," said František Mikeš, the first deputy minister of culture, to ČTK.
The construction of the new building of the National Library is being hindered by problems regarding land, financing, and the regularity of the competition from which Kaplický's design emerged. The disputes have been ongoing for over a year. Moreover, according to the Minister of Culture, there is no money for the building, and the project is, in his opinion, unprepared. The library has allocated 1.9 billion crowns in the budget, while Kaplický's project would cost around four billion.
As Kaplický stated today in a phone interview, he does not want to interfere in Czech politics. "From this point on, I will communicate only through my lawyers, because any statement will be part of something larger that will happen," Kaplický replied when asked whether he would defend himself through legal means.
The preparation for the construction, including the international architectural competition, cost 30 million crowns, and another almost four million would belong to Kaplický in case the contract for the implementation of his project is not signed by March 2, 2009. The Scottish city of Edinburgh and some Czech cities have already shown interest in his building, but the architect refuses the possibility of building it elsewhere.
The new building of the library was to be created due to a lack of space for storing books, which, according to the NK management, will occur in Klementinum and the Hostivař depository after 2010.