The impact of Brexit on cross-border bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings
How will Brexit affect cross-border bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings involving the UK? Will judgments issued by an insolvency court in the UK still be recognised in Poland?
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: Non-statutory grounds for in-house procurement?
Municipal waste collection and transport is the subject of many in-house procurements in Poland. Art. 67(1)(12) of the Public Procurement Law provides one of the possible grounds for awarding such contracts, requiring the contracting authority to meet three conditions. But are there really only three? This issue arose in a case in which the National Appeal Chamber had to decide whether the contracting authority must also meet other, non-statutory conditions to properly award a sole-source contract.
Inheritance of data
A natural extension of the consideration of the legal status of data is the question of whether data can be inherited. This is no longer just a theoretical issue. Data are increasingly valuable, making it vital to answer the question of whether data constitute an asset of the decedent’s estate that can be taken over by the heirs.
The EU global sanctions regime: How human rights affect supply chains
On 7 December 2020, the Council of the European Union adopted a decision and a regulation establishing a global sanctions regime for human rights violations. On this basis, the EU will be able to impose sanctions on persons, entities and bodies involved in or responsible for serious human rights violations and abuses worldwide—no matter where in the world such actions take place. As soon as possible, EU undertakings active on the global market should adapt their internal compliance systems and reflect human rights issues in designing their supply chains.
Statute of limitations runs anew after postponement of payment: A new resolution of the Supreme Court
Recently, the Supreme Court of Poland adopted an important resolution specifying the rules for running of the statute of limitations after a postponement of payment (creditor’s extension of the payment deadline). Under the resolution, if payment is postponed, the statute of limitations begins to run again from the new payment deadline. Thus, the view expressed by the Supreme Court allows the repayment of the debt to be divided into instalments along with postponement of the due date, and thus postponement of the beginning of the limitation period.
Tales from the National Appeal Chamber: A contractor may freely allocate the value of individual parts of a lump-sum fee
When valuing bids in a public procurement procedure as a lump sum, contractors may freely determine the value of individual parts of the contract. For the contracting authority, only the total value of the contract is relevant, and not the valuations of individual parts. But in every case the contractor should examine the documentation to determine whether the contracting authority has included any limitations in this respect. This is the guidance that can be drawn from the ruling by the National Appeal Chamber of 20 October 2020 (KIO 2101/20).
What is the right to personal data?
When seeking inspiration for the future legal status of data, it is worth taking a closer look at how the right to personal data has been shaped. In particular, we could consider whether it is a property right and whether the current legal framework for the right to personal data corresponds to reality and meets our needs.
Acquittal of a drunk driver does not exclude civil liability
In December 2020, the European Court of Human Rights issued its judgment in Papageorgiou v Greece (application No. 44101/13), holding that despite his prior acquittal, the imposition of civil liability on a driver for causing an accident under the influence of alcohol did not violate the presumption of innocence. The case provides an opportunity to discuss how the outcome of criminal proceedings impacts drunk drivers’ liability for damages.
Habitual residence in the context of an application for return of a child abroad
Every case brought under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction requires establishment of the child’s habitual residence. Therefore, the concept of habitual residence is central to the operation of the convention itself. Nevertheless, this term is not defined in the convention, nor in the Brussels II bis Regulation applicable to relations between EU member states.
Interim relief more expensive than it may seem: Regulations to be amended
From August 2019, the fee for an application for interim relief to secure a monetary claim (e.g. for payment of a specific sum of money) made before a legal action is brought to court has increased significantly. Instead of PLN 100, the fee is equal to one-fourth of the fee that would be payable in a suit on the claim (maximum PLN 50,000). Under certain conditions, the fee for an application for interim relief will be set off against the fee on the document instituting the principal proceeding (statement of claim). However, the provisions allowing for this possibility may give rise to problems of interpretation, and thus the need to incur additional costs.
Data as crypto-assets
At first glance, it may not seem obvious to treat data as crypto-assets. But a closer look shows that the current and planned regulations for this new asset class could serve as a key legal framework for the future data economy.
Energy regulator announces the results of the 2020 renewables auctions
On 14 and 18 December, the president of Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office announced the results of this year’s last auctions for the sale of electricity from renewable energy sources (RES) for new onshore photovoltaic (PV) installations and wind power plants with a total installed capacity of up to 1 MW and over 1 MW, held on 26 November and 3 December 2020 respectively.
