Kwartalnik BMSP

LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENTS

1. Officers’ liability

On May 17, 2011 the Act on officers’ liability for evident violations of law came into force (Journal of Laws of 2011, No. 34, item 173, hereinafter: the Act ). According to the new regulations the officer who issued an unlawful decision may even bear a financial liability up to the amount being an equivalent of his or her one-year remuneration. The Act defines conditions of officers’ liability, that is a final and valid judgement or settlement upon which a compensation for damage has been paid. The damage should be caused by a practice of public authority and should concern a gross violation of law stemming from a wrongful act or omission of the officer.

2. Changes In labour law (aspects essential for employers)

On March 21, 2011 amendments to the Labour Code (Journal of Laws of 2011, No. 36, item 181, hereinafter: the Act) came into force. Pursuant to the amendments an employer is exempted from the obligation to issue an employment certificate for an employee if such an employee remains employed by the same employer on the basis of an employment contract for a definite period of time, employment contract for indefinite period of time or employment contract concluded for the time of performance of specific work. Previous obligation of an employer in this respect has been substituted with an obligation to issue a single employment certificate covering periods of employment on the basis of all contracts concluded within a period of 24 months, starting from the conclusion of the first employment contract.

3. Streamlining the administrative procedure from April 11, 2011

On April 11, 2011 amendments to the Code of Administrative Procedure and the Act on proceedings before administrative courts (Act on 3 December 2010, Journal of Laws of 2011, No. 6, item 18, hereinafter: the Act) came into force. Pursuant to the foregoing amendments a party of the administrative proceedings is given a right to submit a complaint to an authority of a higher level in case of protraction of proceedings. We would like to note that in accordance with doctrine and judicature an excessive duration of proceedings is a situation when public authorities do not work on time, nor work instantly (effectively). Consequently, it takes too much time to settle a case. In practice, such a situation may arise to the detriment of entrepreneurs. In our opinion, a legal instrument that was brought into force under the Act increases powers of a party of administrative proceedings due to a failure of statutory deadline.

4. Changes of the product safety rules

On April 15, 2011 the Act on amending the Act on the system of conformity assessment and some other acts (Journal of Laws of 2011, No. 102, item 586, hereinafter: the Act), according to the EU Regulation no. 765/2008/WE concerning conditions for product marketing, came into force. Pursuant to the foregoing amendments products that do not meet CE requirements and are dangerous in using can be destroyed at the borderline; therefore, bearing in mind interest of business entities, they may not only lose products but also be obliged to pay for their recycling. It is worth mentioning that CE label on a product is a declaration of a manufacturer that the labeled product complies with so-called “New Approach” directives. As a consequence, the manufacturer declares that his or her product does not endanger health nor is harmful to the environment, at each stage of the production.

““This document has a purely informational character and does not constitute a legal advice. In case You are interested in any of the above topics, please contact us at the address .” ”

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LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENTS

1. Officers’ liability

2. Changes In labour law (aspects essential for employers)

3. Streamlining the administrative procedure from April 11, 2011

4. Changes of the product safety rules

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