| In Principle

In the context of an M&A transaction a business lawyer is often perceived as necessary evil, a hardly justified cost. Even experienced market operators, when reflecting on how counsels contribute to their deals, seem to only focus on the most obvious, technical aspects of our job. “We have to engage and pay lawyers because they know the exact words that need to be put to paper for things or money to change hands and for us to be able to seek recourse” their reasoning seems to go. In more extreme cases clients are certain that lawyers, by definition, always impair the prospects of their enterprise.

One of the effects of the fourth industrial revolution is the uberisation of the economy – a shift from the classical economy in which businesses internally control and organize assets and activities to perform their functions, to the platform model where digital tools make it possible to coordinate independent individuals and external resources towards the same activity.

A December KIO ruling dealt with an IT aspect of the qualified electronic signature. A contractor had purchased an electronic signature from a trusted supplier, but despite this, the ESPD signed using the electronic signature was invalidated.

Directive 2014/24/EU of 26 February 2014 on Public Procurement only states that “where a tender is signed with the support of a qualified certificate that is included on a trusted list, the contracting authorities shall not apply additional requirements that may hinder the use of those signatures by tenderers”. Unfortunately, the National Appeals Chamber (KIO) took a different view of the issue.

According to Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case law and EC directives, the principle of proportionality and equal treatment must be observed when selecting contractors in public procurement proceedings. Clearly, the Public Procurement Office and National Appeals Chamber have an obligation to evaluate public procurement proceedings in terms of these principles. However, as complaints about breach of competition regulations in tenders are submitted to the president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), it is not clear whether this institution is required to refer to these principles.

The Principality of Liechtenstein has been an international financial centre for a long time. Now, due to the Liechtenstein Rules, it has an opportunity to become an international arbitration centre.

As of 1 January 2019, amendments to the Labour Code came into force allowing employee files to be kept in electronic form. This raises the obvious question of whether employment contracts can be in electronic form as well.

The Employee Capital Plan Act, which came into force on 1 January 2019, is one of the most important legislative developments of 2019. This is especially true for employers, as they need to prepare for the new obligations and further expenditure. On the other hand, employee capital plans (ECP) could substantially increase Poles’ savings and be an additional source of income in retirement.

On 7 December 2018 the European Commission released a watchlist of websites and physical marketplaces located outside of the European Union that have been identified as major sources of infringement of intellectual property rights.

Liability for money laundering in the case of persons assisting in actions taken by dishonest debtors to the detriment of creditors.

To mark the 30th anniversary of Wardyński & Partners, a debate was held on 7 December 2018 entitled “The right to unplug: Dignity, privacy and new technologies.” The panellists considered whether the right to internet access we have won should be followed by recognition of a right to be free from the internet.

Only a month ago we posted an article on plans to change the way the capital market is regulated and market investors are protected. The act has now been passed and signed into law, and will come into force on 1 January 2019.