| In Principle

A bill currently being processed by the Sejm significantly limits the right of a management board member to resign from office at any time.

The approach taken in a Public Procurement Office opinion towards the issue of the form of a non-pecuniary bid bond will mean a lower number of valid bids above EU thresholds, where the bid bonds required are so high that contractors use bank guarantees.

The European Parliament has specified areas in which measures are to be taken to prevent unreasonable variation in product quality on the single EU market. Varying quality in this way will be a prohibited market practice. This is the main change planned for 2019, but not the only change.

Increasing electricity prices may not please customers, but despite appearances they cause energy suppliers a lot of problems too. It is obvious that firms selling energy try to pass on increases in market prices to customers, even if they are bound by long-term energy sale agreements that guarantee a fixed price for the duration of the agreement. If this happens, customers need to seek the appropriate legal remedy to prevent costs going up, and in extreme cases prevent the electricity supply from being cut off.

The Ministry of Energy has published a draft amendment to the regulation on tariffs reducing the burden of the qualitative fee on some “large” industrial customers.

A judgment of the Supreme Court overruling a decision of the president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) does not apply to all participants in an agreement restricting competition. If a cassation appeal by one of them has been rejected or the Supreme Court has refused to accept it for examination, the case is irrevocably closed, regardless of how the proceedings continue and whether the decision of the president of UOKiK is ultimately upheld.

On 3 October 2018 Poland filed a complaint with the Court of Justice against the amended Posted Workers Directive (2018/957/EU).

The Public Procurement Law regulates the method of eliminating contractors who do not meet the requirements for such things as integrity (no criminal convictions). The sanction of exclusion from a tender may be imposed on a contractor not for acts committed by the entity, but for acts committed in relation to the activity of a collective entity by natural persons acting on its behalf or in its interest.

Andrzej Sapkowski’s demands for more money for copyrights to The Witcher is the tip of the iceberg. Changes in the gaming industry, like increased production costs and the dominance of digital distribution platforms, will give rise to an increasing number of disputes, in particular over intellectual property rights. What could trigger these disputes and how can they be prevented?

Intensive developments in modern technologies and increasing globalisation are affecting all areas of life, including that of work. This is work meant in broad terms, not only in terms of its performance, but also recruitment and the mutual relations of employers and employees. Where is this all leading us?

Changing energy prices observed in the last few months on the Polish Power Exchange (TGE) are causing disputes between energy suppliers and customers. Suppliers are raising prices unilaterally, the buyers respond by terminating their agreements, and the first cases are being heard in the courts. The large amount of uncertainty on the market is hindering the signing of agreements for the future. Even large and experienced businesses are finding this new situation daunting.

As of 1 October 2018, companies will no longer prepare paper financial statements. After more than six months of implementation of the new regulations, we can make an initial assessment of their application in practice.