| In Principle

“Water is not a commercial product like any other but, rather, a heritage which must be protected, defended and treated as such,” states the Water Framework Directive. The principle of the recovery of the costs of water services is being introduced to encourage savings and optimal use of water. This will be a substantial burden for many businesses.

Exclusion of the possibility of terminating a licence, although debated by legal commentators, had not been ruled on by the Polish courts until recently. But now a judgment has been issued by the court of appeal inferring from the writings and behaviour of the parties that they concluded a non-exclusive licence agreement for an indefinite period without the possibility of terminating the licence.

In a judgment issued on 9 June 2016, the Court of Justice ruled on the factors that should be considering when determining the extent of damage and the amount of reasonable compensation for IP infringement. The ruling was issued under Council Regulation (EC) 2100/94 on Community plant variety rights.

After the end of cooperation with the principal, a commercial agent is entitled to indemnity if the agent brought “new” customers to the principal or generated a significant increase in turnover with “old” customers. But what if the customer is “old,” and the turnover hasn’t increased greatly, but the agent encouraged the customer to order goods or services it hadn’t ordered before?

The Act Amending the Business Freedom Act and Certain Other Acts entered into force on 19 May 2016. The changes mainly affect Poland’s small business register—the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity (CEIDG).

The topic of liability for damages on the part of public authorities is not widely known. Many people are not aware of the extensive rights at their disposal connected with actions by bodies of public authority. Consequently, injured parties often fail to pursue redress of losses suffered in connection with public administration.

It used to be accepted that the sovereign is infallible, and questioning the correctness of the sovereign’s decisions was bound to end badly. Today, fortunately for the people, there are instruments for holding the authorities liable for their wrongful acts and omissions.

It is theoretically possible to pursue damages from the State Treasury for injury caused by violation of EU law, such as non-implementation of directives. But procedural difficulties discourage most litigants from taking this path.

The real estate development business relies on decisions issued by administrative authorities for architectural and construction matters. The development process follows a number of successive phases, and only after positive completion of one phase can the process move on to the next phase.

The liability of public authorities for unlawful acts or omissions also extends to delay in the functioning of the courts, infringing the individual’s right to have his case heard without undue delay. A finding of excessive length of proceedings enables a party to pursue redress of the resulting loss through the courts.

Poland is introducing regulations implementing a new global standard for automatic exchange of information about tax matters, developed by the OECD.

The amendment to Poland’s Penal Code which entered into force on 15 April 2016 modified the rules concerning liability for perjury. The increased sanctions affect persons making false statements pursuant to requirements arising out of implementation of FATCA rules in Poland.