The Prague Airport Authority must pay 4.9 million CZK to architect Franta, the court ruled

Prague - The administration of Václav Havel Airport Prague must pay architect Petr Franta approximately 4.9 million crowns and interest for the use of his work. On Wednesday, the appellate High Court in Prague made a final decision on this, replied court spokesperson Kateřina Kolářová to a query from ČTK today. Franta sought compensation in connection with the completion of "finger B" of the airport terminal. Interest on late payment has been accruing since February 2002 until the present, so it can be expected that the final amount will increase significantly.

Franta won the architectural competition for the design of the new terminal with his colleague Michal Brix in the mid-90s. However, their plans were then taken over by another architectural firm, Nikodem & Partner, to which the airport administration handed over the project without the permission of the original authors, according to the court. The High Court in Prague has previously confirmed that the true authors are Franta and Brix.

"The appellate panel of the High Court in Prague decided to award the plaintiff (Franta) the requested compensation for the use of a work of which he is a co-author, as the completion of finger B at the airport unlawfully infringed on the rights of the co-authors," Kolářová stated regarding the current ruling. The administration of Václav Havel Airport Prague must pay Franta within three days of the legal force of the judgment.

The spokesperson for Prague Airport, Klára Divíšková, explained that the decision does not concern the current operator of Václav Havel Airport, namely the joint-stock company Airport Prague. "The Administration of Václav Havel Airport Prague is not involved in the lawsuit, being a residual state enterprise, and this case arose more than twenty years ago. Airport Prague, a.s. is not a party to the dispute, and thus does not have detailed information available nor is it subject to the obligation to pay the monetary amount according to the judgment," she stated.

Franta and Brix were awarded the Academy of Engineering Prize for their outstanding project at the airport, the Mayor of Prague's prize for an exceptionally high-quality architectural work, and also a nomination for the Mies van der Rohe Award for European architecture.

Due to the construction of Ruzyně Airport during operation, only part of the new terminal - the check-in hall or one of the two "fingers" of the terminal - was built according to the design by Franta and Brix in the first phase. The remaining "finger B" was built by the airport administration only later when forecasts of an increase in passenger numbers were fulfilled.