| In Principle

Numerous sectors of the economy have been paralysed. The problem is not just closings or restricted access to a range of services, but also absence of staff due to illness, quarantine or childcare. Consequently, businesses cannot operate normally or perform their obligations on time. A lack of supplies by one company often carries over to an inability of its customers to fill their own orders. This bogs down the whole economy. We await systemic solutions allowing Polish businesses to survive. But before they arrive, it’s a good time to examine the regulations currently in force.

Ministerstwo Rozwoju zapowiedziało, że opracuje projekt specustawy wprowadzającej kompleksowe wsparcie dla przedsiębiorców, których działalność zostanie dotknięta w związku z rozprzestrzenianiem się Covid-19. Nie jest jeszcze znany konkretny kształt tych regulacji, ale zgodnie z zapowiedziami projekt ma trafić na posiedzenie sejmu w dniu 25 marca i zostać wprowadzony z dniem 1 kwietnia.

Faced by the spreading SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, the Polish Parliament and President rushed through a Special Coronavirus Act. The act is intended to clarify and supplement regulations on prevention of the spread of infectious diseases in Poland. But by giving total primacy to protection of the public interest, the act ignores the issue of the rights and freedoms of persons subjected to various forms of compulsory treatment (hospitalisation, quarantine, and epidemiological supervision). Do individuals have any means of legal protection in this context?

From 1 June 2020 the regulations on prohibited contractual provisions (abusive clauses), so far applicable only to consumers, will in certain situations also apply to sole traders. This change will generate many practical problems.

Plastic straws, disposable utensils, and certain types of containers for food and drink will disappear from store shelves across the European Union by 3 July 2021 at the latest. The ban on their sale is one element in the EU’s battle with plastic waste flooding the world.

On 8 March 2020, the Law on special arrangements for the prevention and combating of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and crisis situations caused by them (Crisis Act) took effect. It introduced a number of provisions setting rules and procedures for preventing and combating infection and spread of the COVID-19 infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus as well as tasks of public administrations in this regard.

A new regulation, Art. 385(5) of the Civil Code, enters into force on 1 June 2020. It expands the application of provisions on abusive clauses to cover sole traders. This provision may have repercussions under the Contractual Advantage Act. The competition authority may treat the use of abusive clauses by an entity holding a contractual advantage in contracts with sole traders as abuse of a contractual advantage.

If execution or bankruptcy proceedings are commenced against the owner of leased or tenanted real estate, the lease or tenancy contract may be terminated early by the administrator or trustee. Rent paid in advance may then be deemed ineffective. How should lessees and tenants protect themselves when entering into a contract with an owner in poor financial condition?

Most businesses react nervously when they hear the letters “GDPR,” as in their view the regulation gets in the way of performing their day-to-day work, particularly marketing. At the same time, many businesses get lost in the tangle of regulations they are supposed to follow if they wish to lawfully direct marketing communications to individuals. What issues cause them the most difficulty?

Designing marketing initiatives in an organisation so they comply with the regulations, including data protection rules, can be problematic. The situation becomes even more complicated if marketing for several companies within a group is carried out by one of the companies, designated through informal internal arrangements (often without concluding any contracts).

Ensuring the transparency of websites is vital from the perspective of the GDPR. Persons entering a website must be aware of how their personal data will be processed on the site and for what purpose.

Cookies and similar technologies are commonly used marketing tools enabling optimisation of marketing campaigns and more effective targeting of customers. So it comes as no surprise that it’s hard to find a website without a popup window informing users that the site uses cookies, referring the user to the privacy policy and cookies policy for more information. Interestingly, a great majority of these messages are themselves inconsistent with the applicable regulations on data protection, telecommunications, and electronic services.