| In Principle

Until now, the obligation to comply with the EU economic sanctions regime has arisen directly from the EU regulations, in particular Regulation 833/2014 and Regulation 765/2006 containing restrictive measures against Russian and Belarusian entities, but violation of bans has not been subject to fines. This situation should change, as a bill on special solutions to prevent the support of aggression against Ukraine and to protect national security is being taken up in the Polish parliament.

The construction market is facing more challenges. After many problems associated with the pandemic, other major difficulties have arisen due to Russia’s war on Ukraine. This presents the second recent case of force majeure affecting the economy. Although the construction sector did well in the pandemic crisis, this time the outlook is much more pessimistic. Thus the new reality requires a rapid response and search for solutions to mitigate numerous risks.

The Public Procurement Law of 11 September 2019 improperly implements the exclusion ground for improper performance of a former contract, as it ignores the specifics of the Polish public procurement market. This error can be corrected by a legislative change or by a pro-EU interpretation of the existing law.

Increased court fees for an application for a summons to conciliation have been in effect since August 2019. They were intended to prevent the use of settlement proceedings solely to interrupt the running of the limitations period. Has this effect been achieved?

A contractor is obliged to calculate the bid price fairly and factor in everything that follows from the terms of reference, including typical risks associated with contract performance, so that the bid is realistic and allows for proper performance of the contract. If the bid price appears abnormally low or is otherwise questionable, the contractor must explain it in detail.

Often, both debtors and creditors believe that if a debtor has initiated a whole chain of transactions to evade paying debts, the case cannot be “unwound” and the creditor is defenceless. But in reality, in such situations dishonest debtors (and their allies) cannot rest easy. Both the legal provisions and the court practice give the creditor a chance to successfully challenge even a whole chain of fraudulent transactions.

In a recent resolution, the Supreme Court of Poland addressed the legal situation of a creditor bringing a fraudulent transfer claim against a third party, compared to other creditors of the third party.

In the newest episode of News from Poland—Business & Law Jakub Barański from Wardyński & Partners’ Litigation & Arbitration Practice, discusses the issue of ransomware attacks and in particular, dealing with ransom demands.

In Europe and worldwide, the battery market is undergoing revolutionary changes. The World Economic Forum predicts that global demand for batteries will be 14 times greater in 2030 than it is today. This means that the number of plants producing them must increase significantly. In 2030, the European Union could account for 17% of the global market demand for batteries. Among other things, this is influenced by the growth of the digital economy, low-carbon mobility, and renewable energy. The number of problems related to battery production and unregulated issues has inspired the European Commission to make decisive changes in European law, the effects of which will be felt not only by the battery industry but also directly by consumers.

A list of questions has been published on the website of the Personal Data Protection Office on compliance with the GDPR provisions on data protection officers. These issues will need to be addressed by data controllers and processers summoned by the data protection authority.

Special acts introduced in isolation from existing solutions distort good law. This can be seen in how the public procurement market in Poland has been affected by successive amendments to the Covid Special Act. Today a special act is unnecessary, and force majeure provisions will suffice. Instead, it would be useful to amend the provision governing claims for a change in the amount or method of payment for public contracts.

Some 70–80 extradition requests are filed every year with the Polish authorities, to turn over persons to stand trial before a foreign court or serve a punishment abroad.