On October 1, 2023, a controversial amendment to the Polish Penal Code entered into force. The changes introduced by it include, among others, tightening penalties for crimes listed in Chapter XXXVI of the Polish Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as the Penal Code), i.e. crimes against business transactions and property interests in civil law transactions. People holding important positions in companies should feel particularly at risk, because in their case the penalties will be much higher.
Penalties for white collar crimes.
Introduced together with the amendment to the Penal Code, Art. 306b of the Penal Code, creates new qualifying types for acts under Art. 296 § 1 or 2 of the Penal Code (abuse of trust in business transactions), Art. 296a § 1 or 4 of the Penal Code (economic bribery of the basic and qualified types), Art. 299 § 1, 2, 5 or 6 of the Penal Code (money laundering) or in Art. 303 § 1 of the Penal Code (unreliable and false economic documentation). These types are based on the amount of property involved in the crime or the amount of damage. And accordingly, in accordance with Art. 306b § 1 of the Penal Code, the qualifying mark is committing an act in relation to property with a value (or causing damage of a certain amount) greater than five times the amount determining the property of great value (PLN 5,000,000), while the qualifying mark under § 2 is the value greater than ten times the amount determining property of great value (PLN 10,000,000).
Issues and practical implications of the phenomenon of green clauses
In the area of the dynamically evolving legal and business space, the subject of reflection is the phenomenon of green clauses in lease agreements, which constitute a meeting point of innovative legal practices and sustainable development strategies. This article is aimed at a reliable analysis of this phenomenon, considering it in the context of the real estate market and its key participants. On the one hand, we face the challenge of adapting traditional legal practices to new realities, and on the other, we explore how these new realities can generate benefits for all participants in the real estate process. In the context of green clauses in lease agreements, practical implications may include, for example, the impact of these clauses on the relationship between the parties to the lease, changes in property management, financial implications for owners and tenants, or the long-term impact on property values.
Article 361 of the Polish bankruptcy law provides for an order for the court to discontinue bankruptcy proceedings as soon as the conditions listed exhaustively in this provision occur (resolution of the Regional Court in Szczecin of December 23, 2015, VIII Gz 236/15, LEX No. 1964121). The court issues a decision ex officio, which does not exclude an appropriate request for information from the trustee.
The decision on discontinuation refers to the stage of the so-called proper bankruptcy proceedings, and not the proceedings ending with the decision to announce bankruptcy.
Pursuant to Art. 29a of the Polish Bankruptcy Law, consumer bankruptcy cannot be dismissed if it leads to harm to creditors.
As indicated in the justification for the draft amendment to the Bankruptcy Law, introduced on January 1, 2016, the change introduced by Art. 29a solves the significant problem of creditors submitting applications of a purely debt collection nature, aimed at forcing the debtor to fulfill an obligation that is, moreover, sometimes controversial. After obtaining satisfaction of the debt, the creditor usually withdraws the application, and even if he does not do so, the court dismisses the application due to the applicant’s lack of standing to further support the application. This practice harms other creditors.
South Korea is overtaking Italy and Switzerland in investments in Poland.
South Korea has jumped into the top ten largest direct investors in Poland – according to new data from the National Bank of Poland. At the end of last year the involvement of Korean companies amounted to PLN 30.5 billion. During the year it increased by almost PLN 12 billion.
Korea’s strong position is due to investments such as the electric car battery factory located near Wrocław. The sales of batteries have recently become one of the main drivers of growth in all Polish exports.
