| In Principle

Reservation in the sales contract of ownership of the goods until full payment of the purchase price by the buyer increases the security of a supplier of raw materials and semi-finished products to a customer threatened with insolvency.

What banks should pay attention to when granting consortium financing or considering restructuring of consortium debt.

The pre-packaged insolvency (“pre-pack”) may become an effective debt recovery tool for financial institutions who are secured creditors, when the debtor is insolvent and the lender seeks to quickly cash out its collateral at the best price. This can also apply when in-court restructuring proceedings for the debtor are commenced but then discontinued.

The joint and several liability of the investor on a construction project for the fees of the subcontractors under Polish law is particularly strict. Thus owners of construction projects should note the statutory solutions (recourse claims by investors and limitations in subject matter and amount introduced in the amended Civil Code) and the permissible use of contractual clauses to soften this liability regime.

In resolving a conflict between a trademark and a business name, what will essentially be decisive is who first used the disputed designation. The true subject of the business will also be relevant.

The arbitrator’s role is based on trust. Arbitrators are obliged to hear and decide cases personally. Arbitrators cannot delegate their essential duties to other persons. But it is possible and sometimes desirable to entrust supporting activities to another person, known as an administrative secretary. Delegating certain tasks to a secretary can contribute to the arbitration by helping the process go more smoothly, saving time and money, thus furthering the interests of the parties.

Public administration is typically associated with authoritative decisions that can be modified only by challenging them through the administrative courts. A recently adopted amendment to the Administrative Procedure Code is designed to soften this image and make the state’s executive authority more citizen-friendly.

Poland’s amended Administrative Procedure Code includes a new chapter governing the conduct of European administrative cooperation.

At the beginning of 2016 a new regulated profession of “Restructuring Adviser” was created. The role is to be performed by persons professionally qualified for position of office holder in restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings. Restructuring Advisers are required to have knowledge of law, economics, finance and management. Their professional qualifications are confirmed by licence. Currently over 1,050 professionals hold a Restructuring Adviser licence in Poland.

The European Court of Human Rights has held that an NGO operating an online blog cannot be held liable for comments posted by internet users because the organisation quickly deleted the offending posts. Meanwhile, the Warsaw Court of Appeal has held the publisher of a news site liable even though it was not notified of the unlawfulness of comments before being sued. These new rulings provide an occasion for sharing a few remarks about online defamation.

In March 2017 the European Commission published a report on labelling of alcoholic beverages. It seems the exemption allowing alcohol producers to avoid placement of information on the ingredients and nutritional value of their drinks is drawing to an end. The beer, wine and spirits industry has 12 months to propose solutions to the Commission reflecting the specific nature of alcoholic beverages but also ensuring effective protection of consumers throughout the European Union.