| In Principle

Aleksandra Drożdż explains the liability for binding instructions that the parent company will be able to issue to its subsidiaries under the proposed provisions of the holding law.

When filling in the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) form, contractors must answer the question whether they have committed grave professional misconduct while performing previous contracts. This question is closely correlated with the condition for exclusion under Art. 109(1)(5) of the Public Procurement Law, which specifies that this concerns violations that are serious and self-caused. Therefore, a contractor does not necessarily have to mention any and all delays or complications that occurred during the performance of previous contracts. In this context, an interesting ruling was issued by the National Appeal Chamber on 4 June 2021 (KIO 1087/21) indicating how this question from the ESPD form should be interpreted.

On 22 July 2021, the Ministry of Health published a draft Act on Quality in Healthcare and Patient Safety. The stated purpose of the bill is to implement legal and organisational solutions to improve the quality of healthcare in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. What will change and to what extent?

Some characteristics of the performance offered by a contractor can only be verified at the contract performance stage. But if such non-price criteria are supposed to be considered when evaluating bids, verification only at the stage of contract performance renders these criteria illusory, as the contractors compete on the basis of price anyway. So far, decisions from the National Appeal Chamber have allowed the use of such criteria. But on 18 December 2020, the Warsaw Regional Court issued a judgment holding that the characteristics of the performance offered by a contractor should be verified before selecting the most advantageous bid. Will this judgment change the approach taken by the National Appeal Chamber?

Protection of all categories of staff, including job candidates and former employees. A broad range of infringements subject to reporting. Protection of whistleblowers against all retaliatory measures, including defamation suits. A duty to establish internal whistleblowing procedures. These are just a few of the points included in the guidelines for the bill implementing the EU’s Whistleblower Directive.

Dr Radosław Wiśniewski explains the problem of claims by pre-war property owners (and most often their heirs), which must be taken into account when purchasing real estate and pose a risk for transactions.

Traditionally, a mystery shopper is used for business audits and customer satisfaction surveys. Since 2016, the president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has also been entitled to use this legal instrument. But in each case the authority must obtain prior approval of the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection.

The game development market in Poland and worldwide is steadily growing, and ambitious companies from the game sector are looking for ways to increase brand recognition and raise funds for new productions. This leads them to consider listing their shares on the stock exchange. So the question is, who can go public, what is to be gained from doing so, and how to go about it?

In 2017, the possibility of obtaining a doctoral degree under an industrial doctoral programme was introduced in Poland. This is designed to support innovation by facilitating cooperation between business and universities and scientific research institutes. The doctoral dissertation prepared under the programme is intended to improve the operations of a specific company or solve a technological problem faced by the company employing the doctoral student.

Sometimes typos occur when preparing bid documents, and can be corrected by the contracting authority if the contractor provides the required clarification. But not all mistakes can be cured, especially those concerning the bid price, as they directly affect the contractor’s position in the ranking. An example of such a mistake is when a price is given in figures and then restated differently in words. The National Appeal Chamber explained in its ruling of 1 June 2021 (case no. KIO 1040/21) why such a mistake cannot be corrected.

In this episode, Wojciech Marszałkowski explains transfer pricing compliance obligations. What is the arm’s-length principle? When do taxpayers have to prepare documentation describing most cross-border transactions? What are the peculiarities of the Polish transfer pricing regulations? What are the rules regarding indirect transactions with tax havens? When can taxpayers be required to prepare a “master file”?

Recent amendments to civil procedure in Poland (especially the one dated July 2019) have raised numerous doubts on how to interpret the Civil Procedure Code, in particular provisions on service of court documents, justifications for rulings, and appeals. Some of these ambiguities have caused lots of problems for parties and their counsel, as incorrect application of these regulations can have severe consequences and even result in losing the case on procedural grounds. Some of the doubts concerning justifications for rulings were recently clarified by the Supreme Court of Poland.