A new act from 24.07.2024 has been introduced on the change of claims that can be asserted within so-called class action suits that can be brought on behalf of a group of people (consumers). This new act implements into the Polish legal system the Directive (EU) 2020/1828 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25.11.2020 on representative action for the protection of the collective interests of consumers and repeals the Directive 2009/22/EC. This Directive aims to contribute to the functioning of the internal market and the achievement of a high level of consumer protection by enabling qualified entities that represent the collective interests of consumers to bring representative actions for both injunctive measures and to redress measures against traders that infringe provisions of EU law. Those qualified entities should be able to request that such infringing conduct be ceased or prohibited and to seek redress as appropriate and available under EU or national law, such as compensation, repair or price reduction.
Furthermore new provisions of the act from 27.07.2024 on changes of the act on the management of agricultural real estate properties owned by the Treasury and others came into effect. Important amendments refer to providing de minimis aid on the basis of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 of 18.12.2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU to de minimis aid and to the suspension of the sale of agricultural real estate belonging to the resources of the Treasury. Finally according to the new act a study of conditions and directions of spatial development of the municipality will be regarded as its master plan until a master plan will in fact be introduced in full.
In August there were also changes to provisions aiming at the improvement of actions of the Polish Armed Forces, police and border guards in case of threat to state security. Polish Armed Forces can be used for separate military operations in the territory of Poland during peacetime to ensure the legal protection of soldiers and members of the police and border guard forces, in particular those soldiers and members of the police/border guards serving at the border with Belarus and the Russian Federation. The new provisions stipulate conditions for the use of force in peacetime, facilitate the access of soldiers to a defense attorney in case of criminal proceedings and set rules of conduct in the event of the detention of soldiers. The conduct of a military operation in the territory of Poland during peacetime occurs through a decision of the President of Poland issued on the request of the Council of Ministers. This decision shall include the composition of the Armed Forces that may be involved in a given military operation, their tasks and numbers and the area in which the Armed Forces shall undertake their operations and their length (however, no longer than 60 days).
Acts on the copyrights and related rights, protection of databases and collective management of copyrights and related rights were also subject to recent amendments. Their purpose was to ensure the consistency between Polish law and EU Law in particular with EU- directives such as directive (EU) of 17.04.2019 laying down rules on the exercise of copyright and related rights applicable to certain online transmissions of broadcasting organizations and retransmissions of television and radio programs and the directive 2019/790 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market. Among other things the new bill regulates issues related to licensing of services subject to rebroadcasting, distribution of radio and TV programs directly accessible, extended collective licenses, newly related rights for press publishers, new terms of use of databases encompassed by the act on the protection of databases from 27.07.2001 and provisions of equitable, decent and appropriate remuneration for creators of these works.
Important changes was also introduced by the Polish legislator to the Criminal Code modifying the definition of statutory rape in its Article 197 § 1 which remains a very hot topic in many jurisdictions. The new definition has the following wording: “Who brings another person to intimacy using force, unlawful threat, deception or in another way without its consent will be punished by imprisonment from 2 up to 5 years”.
Last but not least a new electronic communication law (so – called “PKE Act”) was enacted aiming at the regulation of services of electronic communication, of the market of electronic communication, terms and conditions for management of frequencies, orbital and numbering resources, rights and duties of users of radio devices and end-users, entrepreneurs of electronic communications, rules for processing of communication data and protection of secrets of electronic communications. This new law introduces to the Polish legal system provisions of the directive (EU) 2018/1972 from 11.12.2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code which creates a legal framework to ensure freedom to provide electronic communications networks and services, subject only to the conditions laid down in this Directive and to any restrictions in accordance with Article 52(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular measures regarding public policy, public security and public health, and consistent with Article 52(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
