Growth of pharmacy franchises hobbled by institutional inconsistency

“Under the system as it now is, operations of franchisee pharmacies are decided upon – often in contradictory ways – by two separate institutions: the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) and the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate (GIF). There should be no place for such a situation from a rule of law perspective”, ISBzdrowie hears from Bernadeta Kasztelan-Świetlik, former vice president of UOKiK and now a partner at GESSEL. Elżbieta Chojna-Duch of the Chair of Financial Law at the University of Warsaw, meanwhile, points out that GIF is acting incorrectly when it justifies some of its refusals in terms of the allegation that franchisee pharmacists assembled within a franchise network make up a “capital group”.

“Situations such as this should not occur in a polity upholding the rule of law. Business enterprises ought to have a clear message as to what’s allowed to them and what isn’t”, Kasztelan-Świetlik tells ISBzdrowie.pl.

The problem has become so grave that, just now, the two authorities have convened a team of experts tasked with settling on a joint position, but it seems that, also here, separate guidelines for decision-making will emerge – one for GIF, one for UOKiK, she adds.

The full text of this article is available (in Polish) on Wyborcza.biz. If you are interested in an English-language version or in discussing the issues raised herein with one of our lawyers, please contact: kontakt@gessel.pl.