KG Legal KIELTYKA GLADKOWSKI is pleased to announce that one of the firm’s partners has contributed, as a legal practitioner from Poland, to the forthcoming 2026 edition of the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index®.

The World Justice Project is an independent, non-partisan and multidisciplinary organisation dedicated to advancing the rule of law worldwide. Its Rule of Law Index is one of the leading global sources of independent data on how the rule of law is experienced and perceived in practice. Drawing on surveys of the general public and of qualified legal practitioners and experts across numerous jurisdictions, the Index examines not merely the laws formally in force, but — crucially — how legal institutions actually operate.

The assessment encompasses eight fundamental dimensions: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, protection of fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice. These areas are evaluated through detailed questions concerning, among other matters, judicial independence, access to justice, the effectiveness and timeliness of court proceedings, due process, the practical enforcement of judgments and regulations, the operation of public authorities, and the protection of individuals against arbitrary or improper exercises of power.

Contributing to this project from the perspective of the Polish jurisdiction was both a privilege and a significant professional responsibility for our partner. Meaningful assessment of the rule of law requires more than an analysis of legislation or institutional structures. It also requires practical knowledge of how courts, prosecutors, law-enforcement bodies and administrative authorities function in real cases — and how legal safeguards are experienced by individuals and businesses navigating the system.

Together with the team at KG Legal KIELTYKA GLADKOWSKI, our partner works primarily on complex cross-border matters and remains actively involved in civil, commercial, administrative and criminal proceedings. This experience provides a close view of the practical operation of the Polish justice system, including cases involving international businesses, foreign investors and individuals from other jurisdictions seeking the protection of their rights or the resolution of disputes before Polish courts and authorities.

Poland’s position as a major European Union jurisdiction makes this perspective particularly important. Polish courts and public authorities are increasingly called upon to address cases with international, regulatory and cross-border dimensions. As the movement of people, capital, technology and business activities across borders continues to intensify, the predictability, independence, accessibility and effectiveness of the justice system become matters of significance not only domestically, but also for parties and institutions throughout Europe and beyond.

The rule of law is therefore not an abstract constitutional principle. It directly influences the security of individuals, the protection of fundamental rights, confidence in public institutions, the enforceability of contracts, the stability of investment and the ability of businesses and citizens to obtain effective remedies. Reliable, comparative research such as the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index helps transform professional experience and public perceptions into data that can support informed debate, institutional reflection and meaningful reform.

Our partner’s involvement in this initiative also reflects a broader professional commitment pursued as an active member of the American Bar Association, particularly its International Law Section: promoting the cross-border exchange of legal knowledge, practical experience and perspectives among colleagues from different jurisdictions. Such dialogue is indispensable. No legal system operates in isolation, and many of the challenges affecting justice today — technological transformation, international commerce, migration, regulatory enforcement and the protection of fundamental rights — require cooperation extending beyond national boundaries.

KG Legal KIELTYKA GLADKOWSKI is sincerely grateful to the World Justice Project for the opportunity afforded to our partner to contribute to this important endeavour. It has been a great honour to share practical insights from Poland and to support a project that strengthens knowledge and awareness of the rule of law worldwide.

#WorldJusticeProject #RuleOfLaw #RuleOfLawIndex #Poland #Justice #Judiciary #InternationalLaw #CrossBorderLaw #AmericanBarAssociation #ABAILS #LegalProfession #KGLegal #KieltykaGladkowski #Litigation

Artykuł Partner of KG Legal KIELTYKA GLADKOWSKI contributes to the 2026 edition of the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index® pochodzi z serwisu KIELTYKA GLADKOWSKI LEGAL | CROSS BORDER POLISH LAW FIRM RANKED IN THE LEGAL 500 EMEA SINCE 2019.

Analysis of key changes for business managers

We have analyzed the proposed changes to criminal procedure, which introduce a new structure for conducting proceedings, moving away from the current, restrictive model. The foundation of the amendment is the liberalization of regulations and the strengthening of procedural guarantees for suspects, which is a direct response to the need to implement EU directives and restore the adversarial standard.

Compared to the current state of affairs, the draft law shifts away from the inquisitorial model and instead provides real legal protection for economic participants. These changes are crucial for individuals serving on corporate boards, effectively increasing their legal security in the area of risks inherent in running a business.

Recent years in Polish criminal procedure have been characterized by the primacy of procedural efficiency over individual rights, leading to a systematic tightening of discipline. This has manifested itself, among other things, in the facilitation of the use of preventive measures and the admission of evidence obtained illegally. Project 1600 makes a systemic shift towards strengthening citizen guarantees, restoring the principle of full equality of the parties and fair litigation. For the business sector, this means a real opportunity to actively shape their defenses at the pre-trial stage, instead of adopting a solely reactive approach.

A key element of this reform is to address years of neglect related to the implementation of the so-called EU defense directives (Directive 2013/48/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and in European arrest warrant proceedings, and on the right to have a third party informed upon deprivation of liberty and to communicate with third persons and with consular authorities while deprived of liberty (OJ L 294, 2013, p. 1)). The existing regulations failed to meet European standards, which became the basis for the European Commission to initiate proceedings for Poland’s violation of its treaty obligations. The most important change in this regard is Article 245 § 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which requires that a detained person be immediately allowed to contact a defense attorney and have a direct conversation. As the bill’s justification indicates, detention is a criminal act aimed at prosecuting, and therefore a lawyer or legal advisor providing assistance at this stage has full defense status. Furthermore, the introduction of mandatory on-call duty for lawyers and legal advisors, as defined in Article 245 § 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, guarantees effective legal assistance from the very first minute of the proceedings.

This solution is important for management bodies, as the isolation of an organization’s leader creates the risk of paralyzing the entity’s decision-making. The guarantee of immediate legal assistance enables the implementation of crisis management procedures and significantly reduces the risk of submitting flawed procedural declarations with a high degree of economic complexity.

Project 1600 introduces systemic mechanisms to limit the arbitrariness of imposing preventive measures in isolation. A significant change is the increase in the threshold for a severe sentence from 8 to 10 years (Article 258 § 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure) and the requirement to demonstrate a real risk of perversion in each case. This eliminates the automatic nature of detention in commercial cases, obliging the court to assess whether the severity of the impending sanction actually poses a threat to the course of proceedings in the specific factual circumstances.

The new wording of Article 248 §§ 2 and 3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure serves to discipline law enforcement agencies. It introduces an absolute obligation to release a detainee if, within twenty-four hours (reduced from the current forty-eight) of being brought to the attention of the court, they are not served with a detention order and justification. The legislature establishes an absolute prohibition on re-arrest based on the same facts and evidence. This solution curbs the practice of circumventing procedural deadlines by repeatedly detaining an individual under the same circumstances. For governing bodies, this regulation guarantees the stability of their procedural status and protects personal freedom through repeated isolation.

The reform is complemented by the expansion of evidence disclosure. The amendment to Article 156 § 5a of the Code of Criminal Procedure removes the previous restriction on the exclusion of witness statements from accessible files. The current wording requires the authority to immediately provide the suspect and defense attorney with evidence attached to the arrest request. Restoring full equality of arms allows the defense to substantively refute the prosecution’s entire case, rather than select fragments. For management, implementing these rigors provides fundamental protection against the use of isolation as a pressure tool, directly protecting the reputation and operational stability of the company.

The planned amendment introduces a fundamental change to the Polish criminal process, restoring the primacy of procedural fairness to establishing the material truth at all costs. A key element of the reform is the definitive rejection of the admissibility of so-called “fruits of the poisonous tree,” which directly implements the fair trial standard. Under the current legal framework, shaped by the controversial wording of Article 168a of the Code of Criminal Procedure, evidence cannot be deemed inadmissible solely on the basis that it was obtained in violation of procedural rules or through a prohibited act. Therefore, previous case law permitted the procedural validation of evidence from unlawful sources, provided it was not obtained as a result of the most serious crimes (such as murder or deprivation of liberty). The amendment replaces this model with an absolute prohibition on using materials obtained as a result of a prohibited act. This excludes the possibility of subsequently deeming evidence obtained in violation of the law admissible and prevents law enforcement agencies from remedying procedural deficiencies by invoking an overriding public interest.

In the area of operational control, the reform introduces adequacy rules, which significantly modifies the current procedure for handling incidental evidence. The previous regime of Article 168b of the Code of Criminal Procedure allowed for almost unlimited use of wiretapping materials in cases involving any crime, even if they did not fall within the list of acts justifying the use of operational control. This led to a phenomenon referred to in the doctrine as fishing expeditions, where surveillance ordered in high-stakes cases became a gateway to seeking marginal violations, such as fiscal violations, which would not, in themselves, legitimize such a profound interference with civil liberties. The amendment thus compels the prosecutor to exercise a higher level of investigative diligence, shifting the defense’s focus from substantive analysis of evidence to reviewing the legality of its acquisition.

For the business sector, the implementation of these solutions brings enormous guarantee benefits, primarily in the form of protecting the integrity of business communications and eliminating uncertainty as to the procedural status of managers.

The analysis is based on the standards developed by the European Court of Human Rights in the context of Article 6 of the ECHR, as well as the constitutional principle of proportionality and the right to privacy. The new wording reflects the desire to civilize criminal procedure, where the reliability of state authorities becomes paramount over the ad hoc effectiveness of the public prosecutor, which is the foundation of economic security in a state governed by the rule of law.

The overall proposed changes to criminal procedure should be viewed as a significant strengthening of the legal position of entrepreneurs and management. The shift from an inquisitorial model to a fully adversarial and transparent judicial process significantly minimizes the risk of procedural abuses, which could previously be used as a tool for extraneous pressure in commercial disputes. The reinstatement of strict evidentiary prohibitions and the shortening of procedural deadlines for deprivation of liberty compel law enforcement agencies to adhere to a higher standard of diligence, which directly translates into the operational stability of businesses. Under the new legal framework, the most crucial element of a defense strategy is not only the substantive refutation of allegations but, above all, rigorous oversight of the legality of the state’s operational actions.

Sources:

Directive 2010/64/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings (OJ L 280, 26.10.2010, p. 1);

Directive 2012/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012 on the right to information in criminal proceedings (OJ L 142, 1.6.2012, p. 1);

Directive 2014/41/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 regarding the European Investigation Order in criminal matters (OJ EU L 130, 1.5.2014, p. 1, OJ EU L 201, 30.7.2019, p. 47, OJ EU L 39, 21.02.2022, p. 1 and OJ EU L 2023/2843, 27.12.2023);

Directive (EU) 2016/343 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings (OJ L 65, 11.03.2016, p. 1);

Artykuł Criminal Procedure Reform (Project 1600) – Polish Standards of Protection in Commercial Matters pochodzi z serwisu KIELTYKA GLADKOWSKI LEGAL | CROSS BORDER POLISH LAW FIRM RANKED IN THE LEGAL 500 EMEA SINCE 2019.

We are delighted to share an important milestone in the continued development of KG Legal’s Data, AI & Cybersecurity Desk.

It has been a great honour to serve as the exclusive expert contributors for Poland to the OneTrust DataGuidance Privacy Overview – Poland, one of the world’s leading professional legal compliance resources relied upon by in-house counsel, privacy professionals, compliance officers, multinational organisations and technology companies operating across multiple jurisdictions.

Preparing this contribution was a long-term project that required several months of intensive legal analysis, research and editorial work. Our objective was not simply to describe the application of the GDPR in Poland. Instead, we sought to create a practical and comprehensive guide reflecting the significant transformation of the Polish regulatory landscape that has taken place in recent years as a result of new European legislation and its implementation into Polish law.

The publication therefore extends far beyond a traditional overview of Polish data protection law. It examines the interaction between privacy, digital regulation, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, providing readers with practical guidance on the most important legal developments affecting organisations operating in Poland.

Our contribution discusses, among other things:

• the practical application of the GDPR within the Polish legal system;
• the powers and regulatory practice of the Polish supervisory authority for personal data protection;
• employee monitoring and workplace privacy;
• cookies, consent mechanisms and online tracking technologies;
• electronic communications and direct marketing requirements;
• international data transfers;
• personal data breaches and notification obligations;
• practical compliance with Polish privacy legislation;
• cybersecurity-related regulatory developments;
• the growing interaction between data protection and artificial intelligence governance.

A particularly important aspect of this work was addressing the rapidly evolving legislative environment. During the last few years, Poland has experienced substantial regulatory changes resulting from the implementation of numerous European legal instruments and the entry into force of directly applicable EU regulations that significantly affect organisations processing personal data.

Accordingly, the publication takes into account the practical implications of the evolving European digital regulatory framework, including the interaction between the GDPR and newer legal instruments governing digital services, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and data governance. The analysis also reflects the impact of the AI regulatory framework, developments concerning data governance and electronic communications, as well as the increasingly interconnected compliance obligations facing businesses operating in today’s digital economy.

Rather than presenting legislation in isolation, the publication adopts a practical, compliance-oriented perspective. It combines:

• the GDPR and Polish implementing legislation;
• guidance issued by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB);
• the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union;
• decisions and regulatory guidance published by the Polish Personal Data Protection Office (UODO);
• recent Polish legislative developments and market practice.

Our ambition was to create a resource that would assist both international and domestic organisations in navigating one of the fastest-changing areas of European regulation, where privacy law increasingly intersects with cybersecurity, AI governance, digital platforms, online communications and emerging technologies.

The contribution was prepared by Małgorzata Kiełtyka and Jakub Gładkowski, whose combined experience covers complex cross-border advisory work in data protection, artificial intelligence, life sciences, healthcare, technology law, cybersecurity, intellectual property and regulatory compliance.

https://www.dataguidance.com/experts-directory/Jakub_G%C5%82adkowski

https://www.dataguidance.com/experts-directory/Malgorzata_Kieltyka

For many years, Małgorzata Kiełtyka has advised international companies on GDPR compliance, healthcare regulation, AI governance, technology transactions and cross-border regulatory matters. Her practice combines strategic legal advice with practical implementation of compliance frameworks for multinational businesses operating in highly regulated sectors.

Jakub Gładkowski focuses on data protection, digital regulation, cybersecurity, intellectual property, IT law and emerging technologies. His practice includes advising innovative businesses on regulatory compliance, digital transformation projects and the implementation of European technology legislation affecting both public and private sector organisations.

Being entrusted with preparing Poland’s national contribution to OneTrust DataGuidance represents an important recognition of our team’s expertise and international standing. We are particularly proud that this publication reflects not only our experience in privacy law, but also our broader interdisciplinary approach, integrating data protection with AI regulation, cybersecurity, digital compliance and technology law.

We sincerely thank the editorial team at OneTrust DataGuidance for their confidence in our expertise and for the opportunity to contribute to a publication that supports legal and compliance professionals around the world.

For KG Legal, this publication marks another significant milestone in the continued growth of our Data, AI & Cybersecurity Desk and reinforces our commitment to delivering practical, business-oriented legal advice at the intersection of privacy, technology and innovation.

Artykuł A Major Milestone for KG Legal’s Data, AI & Cybersecurity Practice: Exclusive Poland Contribution to OneTrust DataGuidance pochodzi z serwisu KIELTYKA GLADKOWSKI LEGAL | CROSS BORDER POLISH LAW FIRM RANKED IN THE LEGAL 500 EMEA SINCE 2019.