On 09.02.2024 a new act concerning aid to Ukrainian citizens came into effect due to the war in Ukraine and the new regulations concern among other things an extension to 30/06/24 of:
- the period of the allotted stay of Ukrainian citizens in Poland,
- the period for collective living of Ukrainian citizens in buildings in Poland not meeting legal requirements as to fire protection, hygienic and sanitary and technical construction limits ,
- the visas and residential permits as well as Polish ID cards for Ukrainian citizens,
- the deadline for Ukrainian citizens to exit Poland
- the period in which the stay of Ukrainian citizens on the basis of a Schengen visa issued in Poland or in another member state of the Schengen area shall be deemed legit
The new act also introduces an extension by 28 months the period in which individuals with medical education (doctors, dentists and nurses) may seek a work permit within European Union.
On 20.02.2024 a new draft regulation by the Ministry for Family, Work and Social Policy was published according to which basic remuneration will be increased as from 01.01.2024. This will pertain to employees engaged within state budget sectors.
As of 15.02.2024 new amendments to the Code of Criminal Proceedings and other acts went into force implementing recommendations of the European Parliament and the Council. The new law changes the terms of temporarily arresting and transferring of a person wanted by a European warrant stating that the arrested person must immediately be instructed about the following:
- his/her rights to receiving information about contents of the European warrant,
- the possibility to agree to his/her transfer,
- his/her right to a defence lawyer,
- his /her right to testify
- his /her right to refuse to testify,
- to inspect files of the matter
- to receive medical first aid,
- to attend the court session concerning his/her transfer and temporarily arrest
The new law also lays down provisions about children being suspects or accused within criminal proceedings replacing among other things the definition of a “minor” to “accused who did not reach the age of 18 years”
As from 17.02.2024 the provisions of the Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19.10.22 on a Single Market For Digital Services and its amending Directive 2000/31/EC (so called: DSA) became binding in Poland aimed at the creating of a safe environment within providing digital services on the Internet.
According to the DSA, large or very large digital platforms shall be subject to the strictest due diligence obligations, proportionate to their social impact. This significant reach should be deemed to exist when the number of recipients exceeds an operational threshold of 45 million,. Among such obligations is the implementation by design of measures intended to prevent and mitigate risks arising from new technologies and the fast expansion of information through the Internet. In practice, large or very large online platforms are additionally set under supervision by a Digital Service Coordinator designated by the State Member who completes and notifies annual reports with activities carried out under the Regulation according to the DSA. The Coordinator is obliged to record the number of breaches and complaints that led to the opening of any formal investigation or to the transmission to other Digital Services Coordinators, without referring to personal data. The same also applies to the number and type of orders to tackle acts of disclosure of illegal content issued by the Information related to the adopted measures to resolve any problematic situation such as extrajudicial dispute resolutions is also included in the annual report.
The expressed purpose of the DSA is to update the European Union’s legal framework for illegal content on intermediaries, in particular by modernising the e- Commerce Directive adopted in 2000. In doing so, the DSA aims to harmonise different national laws in the European Union that have emerged at national level to address illegal content. With the adoption of the DSA at European level, those national laws would be overwritten and would have to be repealed.
A new regulation through the bill dated 07.07.2022 was inserted into the Polish Commercial Companies Code in February of this year to meet requirements of the use of the Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 of 07.10.20 on European crowdfunding service providers for business. The EU Regulation established a harmonised legal framework for crowdfunding service providers operating a public digital platform in order to facilitate the matching of prospective investors or lenders with businesses that seek funding by way of loans (lending-based crowdfunding) or acquisition of transferable securities (investment-based crowdfunding). The new regulation within the Polish Commercial Companies Codes forbids addressing an offer for purchasing shares in a Polish limited liability company to an undefined circle of addressees and contains a ban on promoting such activities. The aim of the regulation is designated to exclude the possibility of attracting investors in such companies through for instance crowdfunding and to establish equal and fair rules of gaining capital.
In addition, on 15.02.2024 new amendments to the act on counteracting sexual crimes and on protection of minors (dated 13.05.2016) were founded. They concern all individuals working with children or having professional contact with children at work (especially teachers/trainers but not only). These individuals will now be required to present to their employers their certificate from the National Criminal Register of clear criminal records.
