Legal update. Changes in law in Poland affecting the business environment
Indemnity – when is it due and in what amount?
Disputes concerning indemnity arise under an agency agreement. This payment does not become due automatically, as there are certain requirements. This payment is due on the basis of equity and is intended to give an agent a share in the profits they help to generate.
Improvement of bid bond rules
Work on a concept for a new public procurement law is an opportunity to review the rules on bid bonds. The changes need to go beyond those proposed in the concept.
Public procurement contracts under the new framework: A clear step toward balancing the parties’ positions
The unique characteristics of public procurements should not impede a balanced allocation of risks between the parties. However, despite efforts by various groups this goal has remained unattainable. The drafters of the new Public Procurement Law have recognised the problems related to the parties’ unequal positions and proposed several remedies.
Succession managers: A new option for entrepreneurs
The proposed Act on Succession Management in Sole Proprietorships will offer new solutions for business owners. It is intended to allow the heirs to continue operating an individual business after the owner’s death.
Is an unexamined complaint an approved complaint?
The Act on Consideration of Complaints by Financial Market Entities and on the Financial Ombudsman provides that a complaint not resolved within the stated period “is regarded as” resolved in accordance with the customer’s request. In a surprising resolution, the Supreme Court recently ruled that this does not mean that a delay in consideration of a complaint mandates that it is resolved in the customer’s favour, but such a delay merely increases the burden faced by the entity during litigation. If, of course, the matter ever reaches the courts. Was this what the legislature intended?
UOKiK targets persons in management positions
For the first time, the president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) is conducting antimonopoly proceedings concerning competition-restricting agreements not only concerning businesses, but also persons managing them. This is a milestone in the history of enforcement of competition law in Poland. An outline of the rules regarding liability of persons managing a business and business enterprise in the context of prohibited agreements follows.
Limits on application of the criterion of lowest price
According to current laws, limits on application of the criterion of lowest price apply only to government and local government contracting authorities. Other contracting authorities are permitted to apply the price as the sole criterion or a criterion of a weighting of more than 60%. Meanwhile, both EU and Polish legislators say that criteria other than price should also be applied more often.
European arrest warrant and determining whether rule of law is observed
On 28 June 2018 the advocate general at the European Court of Justice issued an opinion regarding a request for a preliminary ruling from an Irish court on whether the judicial authority executing a European arrest warrant against a citizen of a different EU member state is required to postpone execution of the warrant in order to determine whether there is a real risk of breach of the right to a fair trial in the issuing state due to deficiencies in the system of justice of the issuing state.
Major changes to rules on statutory time limits on claims
On 9 July an amendment to the Civil Code will come into force concerning the statute of limitations. The general time limit after which claims will expire will be reduced to 6 years, while in most cases expiry will take effect from the last day of the calendar year. The rules applicable to expiry of claims of businesses against consumers will also change significantly.
Can withdrawals be made from a bank account seized as security?
In disputes under civil law, a party which raises claims can seek injunctive relief from a court prior to commencement of or during proceedings. Injunctive relief is granted for the duration of the proceedings, which means until a final and binding judgment is issued in the case, and can take various forms (for example seizure of receivables on a bank account). If a court grants injunctive relief, then even if the lawsuit is dismissed after several years of proceedings and the injunctive relief ceases to exist, the business might already have gone bankrupt. A motion for permission from the court for specific withdrawals from a seized account could be an important legal remedy for a business whose bank account has been seized.
“Business beware”: Proposed new Act on Criminal Liability of Collective Entities
The proposal for a new Act on Criminal Liability of Collective Entities published on 28 May 2018 on the Government Legislation Centre website indicates a sea change in the approach to corporate criminal responsibility in Poland. The aim is to achieve more effective punishment of commercial and fiscal offences committed through corporate entities. This is apparent in the wide range of sanctions that could be imposed on collective entities.
