After the lawsuit, a criminal report was also filed regarding the National Library

Prague - A group of five architects has filed a criminal complaint against an unknown perpetrator regarding the competition for the design of a new building for the National Library (NK). Last autumn, a lawsuit was filed by some of the participants, the HŠH architects studio, which ended up in third place.
    Both complaints concern the alleged irregularities of the competition. The criminal complaint was filed on August 8; however, the courts have not yet dealt with the lawsuit. "I expect that a hearing could be scheduled in September," said Tomáš Hradečný, the studio's director, to ČTK. According to him, the lawsuit for damages was the only option at the time for the court to comment on the legitimacy or illegitimacy of the awards, and thus on the course of the competition.
    Since the announcement of the competition results, HŠH architects have stated that it was irregular. They have contacted the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) several times, which repeatedly stated that it could not assess the design competition; it can only do so in the case of a contract awarded in accordance with the Public Procurement Act.
    Earlier, the ÚOHS confirmed to the library that it could apply for an exemption from this law, meaning it did not need to announce the competition in accordance with it. Now, with the awareness of the position of the European Commission, the head of the office, Martin Pecina, states that he decided incorrectly at that time and the exemption could not be applied. He mentions that he can review the actions of the client if a contract for design work is announced based on the competition results.
    The criminal complaint was filed by five architects who did not participate in the competition and who do not belong to any other group of architects that also points to the alleged irregularities of the competition. "It's not against the library, the competition, or the winning design. We want things to work as they should," said one of the architects, Ján Sempel, to ČTK.
    Along with him, the architects Ludvík Grym, Petr Pištěk, Pavel Rada, and Jan Sapák also filed the criminal complaint. Like other critics of the competition, they are bothered that the winning project did not meet the binding condition of the task, namely the placement of the National Conservation Fund above ground. According to them, it should have been disqualified. However, the jury allowed it to proceed and ultimately let it win. The management of the NK argues that prior to the announcement of the competition, they could not imagine safe underground storage for books, and the author of the winning design, Jan Kaplický, came up with a groundbreaking solution.
    According to the authors of the criminal complaint, the competition could constitute the crime of "manipulation in public competition and public auction," consisting of the unlawful favoring of certain competitors, respectively "breach of duty in the management of another's property."
    HŠH architects contacted the ÚOHS shortly after the winner was announced. Later, the Ministry of Culture did the same, but the office still did not want to decide and requested an opinion from the Faculty of Law of Charles University and the European Commission. Both opinions then led the ÚOHS to recommend that the NK annul the competition. However, the management of the NK does not want to annul the competition, claiming that it was conducted according to the rules of the International Union of Architects, which take precedence over Czech laws.
    The future of the new building has been at a standstill for months - most involved parties are shifting the blame onto others. The issues are attributed to the land, lack of funds, and the mentioned problems with the competition. However, the Minister of Culture stated in July that the library will not be built on Letná according to Kaplický's design.