A research grant agreement is a contract of no specifically named type and combines features of other contracts. What matters most, however, is how the contractual relationship comes into being under the rules on research funding laid down in the Research Promotion Act and the rules of the Research Fund, rather than what each party undertakes to provide. These special rules depart from the ordinary rules of contract because public money is being allocated to priority objectives of national science policy. This calls for administrative control at the initial negotiating stage. As with other forms of earmarked public expenditure, the special statute makes research funding subject to a mandatory process with both administrative and private-law elements. The agreement must be preceded by an administrative competition to select a research proposal under Article 24 et seq. of the Act. The conclusion of the contract, the private-law stage of the funding process, cannot be separated from the preceding administrative acts. Of particular importance is the final act identifying the future researchers: the decision of the Fund’s Executive Council ranking the applicants put forward for approval by the Minister of Education, Youth and Science. In established case law on comparable public funding arrangements, even those with a primarily economic purpose, such as public procurement, the administrative acts determine the legal effect of the whole process. See Supreme Court of Cassation judgments No. 19 of 23.02.2009 in commercial case No. 474\/2008, No. 183 of 02.11.2011 in commercial case No. 209\/2011 and No. 92 of 22.08.2013 in commercial case No. 1107\/2011. The terms of the funding contract are themselves shaped primarily by what the parties have already expressed in the application process: the proposed work programme to achieve the planned research result and the justification for the corresponding research costs. The initial decision to open the competition in the priority areas and the subsequent assessment of the proposals against specific public-interest criteria thus already establish the purpose for which the grant is to be awarded without repayment. They also determine the essential elements of the private-law agreement between the parties. A defect in the underlying administrative acts will therefore affect the agreement concluded on their basis in the same way.<\/p>\n
If you have a contract-law issue, it is advisable to consult a lawyer who practises in this area.
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