| In Principle

In a controversial ruling, the Supreme Court of Poland has held that a party’s objective inability to bear the costs of arbitration may render an arbitration clause unenforceable within the meaning of Art. 1165 §2 of the Civil Procedure Code. This issue has already been addressed by leading courts in Finland, Germany, Portugal and the UK, and more broadly by the European Court of Human Rights.

The last two years in the public procurement market have been stormy. The Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have caused a steady and dynamic increase in the prices of materials and services, and disrupted supply chains, translating into record inflation rates and unprecedented fee increases. With this tough economic situation directly affecting the market, contractors have faced the difficult task of indexing their fees in public contracts. The National Appeal Chamber, which hears challenges in public procurement matters in Poland, gave essential guidance on this issue in its ruling of 28 November 2023 (case no. KIO 3389/23).

Since the landmark Court of Justice ruling in 2009 in C-402/07, Sturgeon, it has generally been accepted that when it comes to the right to compensation from an air carrier under the Air Passengers Rights Regulation, a flight delay of more than three hours puts the passenger in the same position as if the flight were cancelled. But in 2024, the Court of Justice held in C-474/22, Laudamotion GmbH v flightright GmbH, that the case is not so clear-cut, and there are somewhat different rights and obligations associated with flight delay than with flight cancellation.

On 3 May 2024, Poland marked the third anniversary of submission of the first version of its National Recovery Plan to the European Commission. On the eve of that date, information was released on disbursement of the first funds under the plan, in the amount of c. EUR 6.3 billion. But this is not the only good news for those interested in financial support from European funds. Legislative work is also underway to help absorb funds the National Recovery Plan and other European funds.

Under the current Polish law, it is still possible to carry out projects based on permits for construction of wind power plants whether issued before or after 16 July 2016, but based on proceedings initiated before that date. Construction is still possible under the old conditions, before the later restrictions came into force. This could improve the unsatisfactory development of renewable energy in Poland. But how long will the old permits remain in effect, and must the projects be put into operation by 16 July 2024?

On 9 May 2024, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) published updated guidance on notifications to the regulator and conducting proceedings under the Control of Certain Foreign Investments Act. The amended provisions of the act, which significantly expanded the scope of its application, entered into force almost four years ago, in July 2020. At that time, the regulator was granted additional powers to protect Polish companies deemed vital for public order, security or health (as we discussed in the article “Control of certain investments: new protective provisions”). The regulator published its first guidance on the new rules in 2022.

A bill to implement the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in Poland was published on 19 April 2024. The main implementation measure is the proposed new chapter 6c of the Accounting Act, entitled “Sustainability Reporting.”

The dispute over the Polish Constitutional Tribunal is ongoing and escalating. Even suggesting that the Constitutional Tribunal still exists and functions in Poland is risky, as it can be seen as taking sides in the dispute. The tribunal has recently dealt with politically charged cases, but a ruling handed down on 8 May 2024 was apolitical and resolved a nagging issue that had been on the tribunal’s docket for years.

The newest episode of News from Poland is about who may be held liable for tax offences committed at a company. The issue is explained by Jakub Znamierowski, PhD, adwokat and senior associate in the firm's Criminal Law Practice.  

The number of decisions by the chairman of Poland’s National Broadcasting Council imposing fines on media service providers for broadcast violations has risen dramatically over the last five years. These decisions involve content standards (respect for law, public order, morality, religious beliefs), protection of minors, and improper language. In 2011–2018, an average of three decisions imposing fines on providers were issued per year. Between 2019 and 2023, this figure leapt fourfold, to an average of 12 per year, and in 2023 there were more than 20. Fines for content harmful to minors are particularly noteworthy for their frequency and problematic nature.

Nearly two years after publication of the European Commission’s proposal, the Greenwashing Directive came into force on 26 March 2024. The main objective of the changes is to protect consumers from deceptive commercial practices.

Biogas and biomethane play a vital role in EU regulations and thus also in the Polish legal system. The accelerating energy transition resulting in billions of dollars of investment in weather-dependent renewable energy sources also requires balancing energy production with controllable sources, among which biogas looms large. Biogas and biomethane production is also a key arc of the circular economy and the greening of agriculture supported by EU legislation—especially in times of turmoil on the market for natural gas from fossil sources.