| In Principle

A term that’s been crunched recently by lawyers and economists in Europe and throughout the world is the Uberisation of work. This refers to the phenomenon in the modern economy where members of various professions don’t work for employers as such but provide services to clients as independent contractors via a range of online platforms. The term takes its name from the well-known ride-hailing app, but similar platforms function in other industries.

Tardiness in investigations and court cases is a structural problem in Poland. This was confirmed among other things in a pilot judgment issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) of 7 July 2015 in Rutkowski and Others v. Poland. This is also confirmed by Ministry of Justice statistics. In 2018, the number of investigations of a duration of between two and five years was up 583 on 2017. Tardiness can occur in particular in complex criminal cases with a commercial element, and for this reason the problem of tardiness will probably affect corporate liability cases conducted once a law now before parliament takes effect. Based on the current wording, the question arises of who will be able to file a complaint concerning tardiness in cases of this kind, and when.

Compliance programmes are gaining in popularity, in particular in the context of a draft of a new corporate criminal liability act, as a defence precisely against this liability. Primarily, however, compliance should be a tool for ensuring that an organisation functions properly, especially as the number of regulatory requirements is on the rise. To fulfil both functions, a compliance programme must be effective.

It has now been more than 18 years since Enercon GmbH, a manufacturer of wind turbines, applied to register a colour trademark with the EUIPO consisting of a pillar with stripes in varying shades of green and white. The ECJ issued a definitive judgment on the extent of the protection granted.

A bill has been released recently regulating the minimum distance for a planned development project in the agricultural sector if it might generate an odour. The proposal comes in light of an increasing number of complaints and motions about odours given off by animal care and breeding facilities.

In a judgment of 21 March 2019 (C-443/17) the CJEU reiterated the need for a precise and concise interpretation of the term “protected product” under Regulation (EC) 469/2009 concerning the supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products. The CJEU stressed that this term only applies to an active ingredient of a medicinal product, and not combination with other substances that do not have an independent therapeutic effect.

The debate about whether implementing and enforcing a compliance programme is a general legal obligation is nothing new. Compliance is a tool for managing an organisation’s operational processes, preventing wrongdoing, and mitigating liability. For this reason, it is an element of the duty to exercise due diligence, with penalties not only of a criminal nature.

When assessing the post-war legal status of buildings erected on land subject to the Warsaw Decree, there is currently greater focus on the circumstances surrounding wartime destruction of buildings and the fact that decree-related proceedings are ongoing. This is intended to take away or restrict ownership title to “budynki piątkowe” – buildings fulfilling requirements under Art. 5 of the Warsaw (Bierut) Decree. Meanwhile, the structure of a “decree building” is a refined legal concept that needs to be viewed in the context of laws and case law in effect at the time.

The authorities have 12 months to issue certificates confirming the conversion of perpetual usufruct into ownership (2 January 2020 is the deadline for issuing them). Therefore, the parliament has established a transitional provision according to which the fee for 2019 is to be paid by 29 February 2020. However, is it worth taking advantage of this extension? And will the high discount for conversion continue to be applicable? What about the property tax—will it also change?

The Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology has submitted a long-awaited draft of the Act on Compensation for Energy-Intensive Industries in relation to the rising costs of climate policy.

One of the basic items that will probably be secured during a law enforcement search is a mobile phone or other electronic device, if there is a “reasonable suspicion” that it may contain information proving that a criminal act has been committed. Mobile phones are an attractive source of information about the holder’s life which investigators can then use as evidence. But what about the confidentiality of correspondence?

Sport is an increasingly important sector of the economy. It is a significant contributor to GDP. It attracts massive capital investment and is a source of livelihood for many service providers and employees. Industrial relations in the sport sector are therefore subject to intensifying scrutiny, especially in jurisdictions where the sector is still developing and in the process of professionalisation. But sport-specific industrial relations also have certain peculiarities that make them intriguing in the discussion of employment market trends in the modern economy.