Reduction in fees for requests for a statement of grounds for rulings
The Polish parliament has reduced the fees on some requests for a statement of the grounds for rulings in civil proceedings. In these cases, the fee has dropped from PLN 100 to PLN 30. This fee will continue to be credited against the fee payable on the appeal.
New automotive emissions reduction targets: Which vehicles will they cover?
The ambitious climate targets adopted by the European Union at the 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015 (the Paris Agreement) require decisive action across many sectors of the economy. The automotive industry will not be spared, and will soon be subject to a series of new regulations.
When the contracting authority unreasonably refuses to extend the delivery deadline
Can the parties to a public contract be obliged to modify the contract when the contractual prerequisite for amendment has been met? And can a party agree only to the beneficial consequences of a change in economic realities?
Towards a Polish roadmap for sustainable finance
Sustainable finance is an approach that links financial issues with care for the environment, society, and corporate ethics. In Poland, the development of sustainable finance will continue to be handled by the Sustainable Finance Platform.
Pseudonymisation of data in clinical trials and its implications for sponsors
In clinical trials, a standard practice is that the sponsor, i.e. the entity responsible for undertaking the clinical trial, managing it and arranging for its funding, does not have access to data directly identifying the study participants. Typically, the patients’ data reach the sponsor in pseudonymised form. Thus sometimes sponsors assume that since they are only processing pseudonymised data of clinical trial participants, they are not subject to the GDPR. Nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, pseudonymisation poses additional challenges for sponsors as data controllers.
Freeriding isn’t allowed in an alliance, but neither is bullying and humiliating your allies
Donald Trump has caused uproar in Europe by his comments that the US under his lead would not come to the rescue of NATO states that are not contributing enough financially to NATO’s defence capacity. This is not the first time he has said such things, and he made similar suggestions when he was the sitting president. This time he added some unhinged and provocative comments about how he would actually encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell it wants” with non-paying NATO member states. But leaving aside this appalling style and all antipathies, let’s consider if he has a point in law.
Constitutional hostile takeover?
Can the outgoing government’s “digging in” at state institutions be compared to the actions of a company’s management board abusing their powers, in their own interest, to keep the shareholders from transferring control of the company to a new investor? And if so, does the Polish Constitution ban such actions by holders of public authority, just as private law bans such actions by the management board (or anyone else acting in a fiduciary capacity)?
The Polish competition authority’s plans for 2024
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) definitely stands out from other public administrative bodies in the number of interventions it carries out and the decisions it issues, as well as its impact on the behaviour of market participants. The regulator’s activity constantly attracts media and public interest. This makes it particularly worthwhile for businesses to be aware of the regulator’s agenda for this year.
European Commission takes action: Bulgarian rolling-stock tender will test new Foreign Subsidies Regulation
The EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation entered into force in July 2023. The first case in which the European Commission will decide what impact non-EU financial support has on the EU procurement market involves a Chinese bidder for a public contract in Bulgaria.
Important amendments to the Foreigners Act
Facilitation of the process of obtaining an EU Blue Card in Poland, and digitalisation of the application procedure for granting residence permits, is provided for in a bill to amend the Foreigners Act.
An administrative authority should take into account a right that is not entered in the land and mortgage register but follows from entries of other rights in the register
In determining the parties to administrative proceedings, the authority is bound by the entry of rights in the land and mortgage register. It is presumed that a right disclosed in the land and mortgage register is entered in accordance with the actual legal status. It is also presumed that a cancelled right does not exist. The practice shows that invoking a undisclosed right usually will not rebut these presumptions. But the situation is different with an undisclosed right whose existence can be inferred from other entries in the land and mortgage register.
Cheaper requests for conciliation
New rules for payment of court fees on requests for conciliation in Polish civil proceedings have been in effect since 28 September 2023. The parliament has heavily reduced the fees to make the institution more attractive, after it ceased to interrupt the limitations period but only suspends it.
