| In Principle

Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms was adopted on 10 May 2023. What new obligations will employers face? How does EU law understand equal pay

A key issue in protecting trade secrets in public procurement is to demonstrate the economic value of the confidential information. Despite many rulings by the National Appeal Chamber and interpretations by commentators, it remains a controversial issue.

Public procurement is subject to the general principle of openness. Sometimes, this conflicts with the interests of contractors, who can protect their companies’ valuable information and knowhow by designating it as a trade secret. But this is not an automatic process, as it requires contractors to make a credible showing of the rationale for protecting the information. In a recent ruling, the National Appeal Chamber clarified the conditions for correctly reserving trade secrets.

As of 12 October 2023, once they exceed certain financial thresholds, undertakings participating in public procurement procedures are required to notify the contracting authority of all foreign financial contributions.

The number of Korean ventures in Poland is growing. It is worth taking a look at Korean culture, including its most famous element at the moment—K-pop, a global musical phenomenon. This industry is also notable for its largely-voluntary ESG initiatives.

The newest episode of "News from Poland" is about dawn raids, that is unexpected visits from law enforcement. How to prepare for it and how to react? You will hear from Jakub Znamierowski, who represents clients in white-collar crime matters, leads internal investigations and specializes in corporate criminal liability.

The Polish Public Procurement Law does not specify an upper limit for contractual penalties. However, if the penalties are out of line with the realities of the contract, the contractor can seek review by the National Appeal Chamber. In a recent ruling, the chamber cut the penalties to 30% of the contractor’s gross fee.

The Ministry of Development and Transport has published a long-awaited bill on certification of public procurement contractors. Certification is expected to make it easier for contractors to prepare bids, and increase the transparency of the contractor vetting process.

Work on the EU’s pharmaceutical package is just gaining momentum, but it is already clear how highly controversial the project is. The dispute turns around the protection of drug registration data. This protection helps compensate for the huge financial investment in developing new drugs, but on the other hand delays the registration of cheaper counterparts. The reform would change the duration of this protection and require pharma companies to meet additional conditions.

In public procurement proceedings initiated on or after 22 September 2023, contractors may again submit criminal record certificates according to the residence of the person referred to in the certificate.

The question might seem simple. The payment gridlock regulations (the EU’s Late Payment Directive and, in Poland, the Act on Combating Excessive Delays in Commercial Transactions) apply to commercial transactions. Although the regulations have been in force for more than a decade, in practice they still raise numerous doubts.

In this episode Jakub Macek discusses tax implications of a shareholder loan.