Category: News

The upcoming changes are related to the implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/770 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services (OJ UE L 136 of 22.05.2019, page  1 and OJ UE L 305 of 26.11.2019, page  60; the “Digital Directive”) and Directive (EU) 2019/771 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 and Directive 2009/22/EC and repealing Directive 1999/44/EC (OJ UE L 136 of 22.05.2019, page 28 and OJ UE L 305 of 26.11.2019, page 63; the “Goods Directive”).

The main objective of both directives is to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market, as well as to ensure a high level of consumer protection and harmonisation of regulations across the EU countries.

At present, we are only discussing a bill (i.e. a bill amending the Consumer Rights Act and certain other laws), and therefore it should be borne in mind that the final form of the legislation may still be different. However, it should already be noted that in 2022, significant changes to consumer rights legislation are to be expected, which are to be implemented by the European Union countries in their laws.

Key changes

An important change in the drafted bill is the introduction of a new type of statutory warranty, i.e. a consumer warranty, and the incorporation of its provisions in the Consumer Rights Act, and not in the Civil Code, as it was the case so far.

Consumer warranty will be based on the concept of goods’ non-conformity with the contract and not on the concept of a physical or legal defect of the goods, as it was the case in the Civil Code. Also, the conditions for the goods’ conformity with the contract under the bill will be described in more detail than at present, which is expected to avoid some of the disputes concerning the scope of obligations imposed on entrepreneurs.

Primarily new is the introduction of a hierarchy of consumer protection measures.

The consumer will first have the right to demand that the goods are restored to conformity with the contract, either by repair or replacement. Only afterwards, if the repair or replacement turns out to be, for example, uneconomical, the consumer will be able to exercise further rights, i.e. demand a price reduction or withdraw from the contract.

Similarly to now, the consumer will not be able to withdraw from the contract if the non-conformity of the goods with the contract is insignificant. However, the bill introduces a presumption in favour of the consumer that the non-conformity of the goods with the contract is substantial.

This article discusses further important changes introduced by the amendment of the Code of Commercial Companies (hereinafter: the “CCC”). They mainly concern compulsory buyout and changes to taking minutes of the management board’s resolutions.

COMPULSORY SQUEEZE OUT

The amendment of the CCC stipulates that a subsidiary may request its parent company to buy out the shares or stocks of minority shareholders (representing not more than 10% of the share capital), if the parent company holds directly at least 90% of the subsidiary’s share capital. The buyout will be made at a price determined by an expert appointed by the general meeting or shareholders’ meeting. The share buyout provisions apply to both the joint-stock company and the limited liability company.

The agreement or articles of association of a subsidiary may additionally provide that the parent company is entitled to buy out shares, if it directly or indirectly holds less than 90% of the share capital, but not less than 75%.

CHANGES TO THE MINUTES OF MANAGEMENT BOARD’S RESOLUTIONS

According to the amendment, the minutes of the management board’s resolutions should contain the agenda of the meeting, the names of the management board members participating in voting and the number of votes cast for each resolution. The minutes shall also indicate the dissenting opinion submitted by a board member together with any reasoning for it. The minutes shall be signed by at least the member of the board chairing the meeting or conducting the voting, unless the articles of association or the regulations of the management board provide otherwise.

In addition, the act introduces a number of other changes, such as regulating the content of the invitation to supervisory board meetings, the competences of the supervisory board in a joint-stock company and extending the list of criminal regulations and offences for which a final and binding conviction renders a person ineligible to perform particular functions.

After nearly 50 years, on Friday 24 June, the conservative-dominated US Supreme Court abrogated the Roe vs. Wade ruling guaranteeing women’s right to terminate pregnancies – the verdict was passed by a vote of six to three. The US Supreme Court has considered that this ruling was a mistake, as the US Constitution does not contain any provision on the right to abortion. As a consequence of this action, each state will be able to independently introduce restrictions or bans on the legality of abortion.

The current situation in the USA originates from the Roe vs. Wade ruling of 1973.
This judgment concerned 21-year-old Norma McCorvey, who was pregnant for the third time.  In Dallas, Texas, the woman’s friends advised her to lie that she had been raped in order to qualify for a legal abortion because, according to their erroneous assumption, the law in Texas allowed abortions in cases of rape and incest. The truth, however, was different, because Texas law only permitted legal abortions in cases where the mother’s life was in danger. Consequently, Norma McCorvey was refused a legal abortion and tried to get one illegally on her own. Due to the fact that the illegal abortion facility was closed by the police, the woman contacted lawyers.
The woman’s case was heard by the US Supreme Court in the early 1970s, which made abortion legal in the USA throughout the whole pregnancy period, provided that the states were allowed to introduce regulations restricting the possibility of abortion in the second and third trimester. The court pointed out that every woman has the right to an abortion as it derives from the rights to privacy and liberty guaranteed by the 14^th Amendment to the US Constitution.

Both while the validity of the Roe vs. Wade ruling was being considered and after it was abrogated, the people of the United States were demonstrating.

President Joe Biden, in his speech from the White House on 24 June, stated that the ruling was a threat to the health of many women. The American president noted that, in his view, the 1973 ruling was correct in terms of constitutional law and the application of the fundamental right to privacy and liberty. Biden blamed former president Donald Trump for the Supreme Court’s decision, saying that the “core” for today’s decision “to eliminate a fundamental right of women” in the US was “three judges nominated by one president, Donald Trump”. As a result, state laws banning abortion automatically go into effect today, he continued. The president also announced that he would do everything possible to protect women’s rights and that his administration would use every means legally possible to protect women as they travel between states seeking their right to abortion.

Currently, after the Supreme Court’s verdict, abortion is already banned in the following states:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Missouri
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Wisconsin
• Ohio

In the following states abortion will be banned or restricted in the upcoming days, weeks and months

• Idaho
• Mississippi
• North Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• West Virginia
• Wyoming
• Arizona
• Florida
• Georgia
• South Carolina

In the following states, abortion is legal or is expected to continue to be legal:

• Alaska
• Colorado
• Illinois
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• Rhode Island
• California
• Connecticut
• D.C.
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Maryland
• New Jersey
• New York
• Oregon
• Vermont
• Washington

While in the following states the law remains unclear:

• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Michigan
• Montana
• Nebraska
• North
• Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• Virginia

In connection with the implementation of the provisions of Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU, some changes will be introduced in terms of entitlements related to the exercise of parental and caring roles by employees, while guaranteeing protection against unequal treatment in employment. The deadline for implementing the Directive expires on 2 August 2022.

The Directive establishes minimum standards aimed at achieving equality between women and men in terms of entry into employment and treatment in the workplace, as well as facilitating the work-life balance for working parents and carers.

The most relevant upcoming changes are summarised below in this article, including:

• the introduction of an individual right to parental leave for female and male employees.

The total length of this leave for both parents will be:

• up to 41 weeks (in the case of single birth),
• or up to 43 weeks (in the case of multiple births);
• the introduction of care leave of up to 5 days per calendar year to provide personal care or support to a relative or person living in the common household who requires major care or support on serious medical grounds;
• providing every employee with the right to time off work due to force majeure, as well as in urgent family matters caused by illness or accident, if the employee’s urgent presence is required;
• flexible work arrangements – another solution to increase the employee’s entitlements to adapt their work arrangements to their individual needs. Flexible work arrangements will be available to parents caring for a child up to the age of 8, as well as carers. In addition, rejection of a request for flexible working arrangements will require the employer to provide written justification;

Furthermore:

• the introduction of employee protection against any unfavourable treatment by the employer or negative consequences towards the employee due to their exercise of rights under the Labour Code. The protection will also apply to an employee who has provided any form of support to an employee exercising their rights under the Labour Code;
• moreover, the introduction of a ban on any preparations for the dismissal of employees during pregnancy and the period of maternity leave, as well as from the date of an employee’s application for: a part of maternity leave, leave on maternity leave conditions or a part thereof, paternity leave or a part thereof, parental leave or a part thereof and care leave or a part thereof as well as taking of such leave, and also due to the application for flexible work arrangement until the date of ending the work under the flexible work arrangement;
• the introduction of sanctions for breaches of the national law introduced in connection with the implementation of the Directive,
• the entitlements for the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment and the Ombudsman to take action in respect of any discrimination cases arising under the implemented Directive.

The regulation introducing the ‘Pregnancy Register’ has been signed by the Minister of Health and will enter into force later in 2022.

The creation of the draft regulation on the detailed scope of data on medical events to be processed in the information system and the manner and time limits for transferring such data to the Medical Information System is controversial, primarily in connection with the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling restricting the right to abortion, in which the tribunal stated that the provision allowing abortion in case of a high probability of a severe and irreversible fetal defect was unconstitutional.

As a result, there are doubts as to whether the state aims to increase the health protection, or its control over the society.

The regulation specifies the range of data collected by medical personnel (which is to be expanded to include, among other things, information on allergies, blood group and pregnancy) and defines the principles of transferring it.

What does the introduction of the pregnancy register mean?

As a result of the introduction of the electronic pregnancy register, the healthcare providers will transfer:

• information on confirmed blood group results, if the healthcare provider obtains it in connection with the provision of a healthcare service or carrying out an essential medical procedure,
• information on medical devices, allergies and pregnancy, if the healthcare provider obtains it in connection with the provision of a healthcare service or carrying out an essential medical procedure.

Who has access to the register?

The expansion of the range of collected data is to translate to better availability of the information transferred to the Medical Information System, which will improve doctors’ work, facilitate the circulation of medical records and reduce the costs of accessing them.

As the Ministry assures, only selected medical personnel will have access to the information stored in the system, and in any other situation, in order to read information concerning a given person, the data subject’s consent will be required. In addition, the Ministry of Health explains that the power of the courts or the prosecutor’s offices to demand access to the information contained in the MIS cannot be exercised arbitrarily, but only in accordance with the applicable law, thus only under pending proceedings.

However, it is impossible not to notice that the Pregnancy Register will increase interference with the private lives of patients. Therefore, the register may be abused. It should be noted that according to the Code of Criminal Procedure, judges and prosecutors, for example, have access to medical records. What is more, if information about the patient’s pregnancy is stored in the MIS, an easier access to the information will be obtained and it will be possible to use this data on a large scale.

It should also be stressed that due to the collection of pregnancy data, patients may be less prone to use medical assistance and plan pregnancy.

This article discusses further important changes introduced by the amendment to the Commercial Companies Code (hereinafter: “CCC”). They regard mainly the members of management board, supervisory board or review panel. It is worth bearing them in mind, as the amendment implements rules of liability that are completely new for the Polish legal system. We know them from the majority of the common law jurisdictions, such as USA, Canada or England.

1. Business judgement rule

One of the important changes introduced by the last adjustment to CCC is the so-called business judgement rule. It is worth keeping it in mind, as it excludes the liability for damage caused to the company as a result of erroneous decisions of its bodies, as long as these decisions were taken within the limits of justified business risk on the basis of information adequate to the circumstances.
Every member of management board, supervisory board or review panel should maintain due diligence resulting from the professional character of their activity when performing their obligations and to remain loyal towards the company. The above obligations are considered met provided that, when acting loyally with regard to the company, one acts within the limits of justified economic risk, including on the basis of information, analyses and opinions that should be taken into account in given circumstances when performing a careful assessment.
Thus, the circumstances accompanying the decision-making of the bodies will be evaluated. The members of bodies who made wrong decisions while performing the obligations diligently and loyally will be protected in the event of causing damage to the company.
In line with the case law of the Polish Supreme Court, any reckless actions performed without maintaining due diligence stemming from the professional character of the activity shall remain sanctioned (see the decision of the Supreme Court of 24th July 2014, II CSK 627/13).

2. Action or omission in the interest of a group of companies

Additionally, in relation to issue of a binding order, a management board member, supervisory board member, review board member, authorised clerk or liquidator of the company participating in a group of companies will be allowed to invoke action or omission in a specific interest of a group of companies if the company disclosed its participation in a group of companies. These entities will not incur liability for damage caused by performing a binding order, including under Article 293, Article 303125 and Article 483 of the Code of Commercial Companies. This applies both to the bodies of the subsidiary company and, accordingly, to those of the dominant company, operating in the interest of a group of companies.

3. Obligations of supervisory boards

Together with exclusion of liability, however, the amendment brings about a specification of obligations of supervisory boards, which shall include:
• evaluation of reports from activity of the accompany and the financial statement for the previous financial year within the scope of their compliance with account books and documents, as well as with the actual status,
• evaluation of applications of the management board regarding distribution of profit or coverage of loss,
• elaborating and submitting to the meeting of shareholders or the general meeting of shareholders an annual report from results of evaluation referred to above and a report from activity of the supervisory board for the previous financial year (report of the supervisory board).

4. Supervisory board’s right to demand information, documents, reports or explanations.

For the purposes of performing its obligations, the supervisory board will be entitled to examine all the documents of the company, perform audit of the company’s assets and demand the management board, authorised clerks and other persons employed by the company to prepare or provide any information, documents, reports or explanations regarding the company, including in particular its activity or assets.

The object of the demand may also be information, reports or explanations regarding subsidiaries and related entities that are in possession of the obligated body or entity.

The information, documents, report or explanations referred to above would be provided to the supervisory board immediately, but in any case not later than within two weeks from the date of such demand being reported to the obligated body or person, unless a longer period is specified in the demand. The management board would also not be allowed to limit the access of supervisory board members to the information, documents, reports or explanations indicated.

I. WHAT IS MONKEYPOX AND WHAT ARE ITS SYMPTOMS?

Monkeypox is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV) in the Orthopoxvirus genus. In favourable conditions it can be transmitted between humans through close contact with infectious material from lesions of infected individuals, as well as via droplets in case of prolonged face-to-face contact. The virus may also spread through infected objects. Initial symptoms of the disease include high fever, headache and back pain, enlarged lymph nodes and severe fatigue. A further symptom is the appearance of a rash that persists for 2 to 4 weeks. While the rash is present, the patient may spread the disease and the scars left by the scabs are very deep and may take even up to 4 hears to heal.

In the past, infections and outbreaks of monkeypox were limited to Africa, with only isolated cases appearing in Europe that did not lead to outbreaks. On 7 May 2022, the United Kingdom reported the first case of monkeypox in Europe in an individual travelling from Nigeria. By 27 May 2022, a total of over 300 cases of monkeypox were confirmed. As of today, i.e. 3 June 2022, no cases have been identified in Poland.

II. MONKEYPOX IS NOW OFFICIALLY AN INFECTIONS DISEASE IN POLAND

On 27 May, the Minister of Health issued new regulations:

• Regulation of the Minister of Health of 27 May 2022 on monkeypox and monkeypox virus infections,
• Regulation of the Minister of Health of 27 May 2022 amending the regulation on infectious diseases requiring hospitalisation,
• Regulation of the Minister of Health of 27 May 2022 amending the regulation on notifying suspected and confirmed infections, infectious diseases and resulting deaths.

According to the first regulation, an announcement was made that monkeypox and monkeypox infections are subject to regulations governing the prevention and treatment of infections and infectious diseases in humans.

Pursuant to the second regulation, people who are infected or sick or suspected to be infected or sick with monkeypox are subject to mandatory hospitalisation. In addition, the regulation implements mandatory quarantine or epidemiological supervision on individuals exposed to infection or coming into contact with the MPXV virus. Mandatory quarantine in monkeypox infections will last 21 days – same as in the case of Ebola, smallpox and viral haemorrhagic fevers – counting from the day following after the last day of exposure or contact.

The third regulation requires physicians and paramedics to report any cases of suspected or confirmed monkeypox infections or deaths caused by the disease. Cases are reported by telephone and confirmed in writing or electronic form.

All three regulations entered into force one day after their publication, i.e. on 28 May 2022.

III. TREATMENT OF MONKEYPOX

As of today, no targeted treatment exists. Specialists claim that antiviral medications or cowpox antibodies may be of some effect against the virus. It is also likely that those vaccinated against smallpox will be protected against the MPXV virus. Note is also made of a new smallpox vaccine, registered as ImvanexTM. The vaccine contains a modified Ankara-MVA cowpox strain. As of today, the vaccine is not registered for use in preventing monkeypox or available in retail.

Experts stress that at the moment there is no cause for significant alarm and believe that the virus does not pose a significant danger to the human population.

 

 

 

 

 

In connection with recent changes in laws, we would like to indicate that a new property development act (act of 20 May 2021 on protecting the rights of buyers of residential abodes or single-family units and the Property Developer Guarantee Fund) will enter into force starting from 1 July 2022. The act will implement the following changes:

I. Property Developer Guarantee Fund

The act will create the Property Developer Guarantee Fund (the “PDGF”), used to safeguard the money paid by buyers, in particular in case of a bankruptcy of a property developer or a bank. In connection with the above, property developers will be required to pay an additional contribution to the PDGF from each payment made by buyers. The act specifies the maximum amount due in contributions, i.e.:

• 2% in case of open residential escrow accounts (ORA),
• 2% in case of closed residential escrow accounts (CRA).

The ultimate amount due in contributions will be determined by secondary legislation, but initial announcements have already been made that initial contributions could amount to 1% in respect of ORAs and 0.1% in respect of CRAs.

The contribution will be non-refundable, meaning that they will not be refunded even if the buyer or property developer rescinds the agreement. If an agreement is rescinded and a new agreement is made with a new buyer, contributions paid on payments made by the previous buyer will not be credited against contributions due on payments made by the new buyer. The property developer will have to pay another contribution and the previous contribution will not be refunded.

II. Reservation agreement

The act is also the first piece of legislation to regulate reservation agreements. It is defined as an agreement between a property developer or a business other than a property developer and a person interested in the sales offer, in the matter of agreeing to temporarily take a residential abode or single-family unit of the reserving party’s choice off the market.

Starting from July, any such agreement will be invalid unless made in writing and a maximum amount of the reservation fee will be set. The fee will not exceed 1% of the price of the abode or single-family unit specified in the sales brochure. The brochure will therefore become an important part of the offer.

A property developer who commences sales is required to prepare a sales brochure with information on a given development project. The amount of any potential reservation fee must therefore be considered when preparing the brochure.

The act also specifies the information that must be included in a reservation agreement:

1. parties to the agreement, place and date of the agreement;
2. price of the residential bode or single-family unit selected by the reserving party from the sales offer;
3. amount of reservation fee, if agreed by the parties;
4. how long the residential bode or single-family unit selected by the reserving party will be taken off the market;
5. location of the abode in a building;
6. usable floor area of the residential bode or single-family unit, floor area and layout of rooms.

After the act enters into force, any reservation agreement will need to be appended with a document confirming the consent or undertaking to grant consent referred to in article 25 subsection 1 item 1 or 2 of the new property development act (consent of the bank for subdivision of property without encumbrance and transfer of ownership of property following the payment of the full price by the buyer).

The reservation fee is credited towards the purchase price. According to the act, if a development agreement is made, the developer must transfer the reservation fee into a residential escrow account kept for the development project or task, no later than within 7 days of entering into the agreement.

III. Refund of the reservation fee

The act provides for the prompt refund of the reservation fee if:

1. The reserving party fails to obtain a loan or promise of a loan due to a negative assessment of their creditworthiness;
2. The developer introduces changes to the sales brochure or documents attached to the brochure without informing the reserving party.

The act provides for the refund of double the amount of the reservation fee if:

1. The developer fails to comply with its obligation under the reservation agreement – e.g. offers the abode for sale despite entering into a reservation agreement;
2. Prior to entering into a property ownership transfer agreement a reservation agreement was made and the developer fails to remedy the defects in the abode included in the handover record and the buyer therefore refuses to sign the ownership transfer agreement.

The developer can otherwise retain the reservation fee. However, we recommend including another condition for refunding the reservation fee in the agreement, i.e. when the Developer refuses to enter into a Development Agreement due to reasons attributable to the Developer, as in our opinion this is a rational solution that will prevent the terms of the agreement from being found to be abusive.

IV. Term of the reservation agreement.

The agreement is made for a fixed term. If the reserving party is seeking a loan, the agreement must account for the time required to obtain a decision to grant a loan or loan promise.

The minimum term of the agreement should be around 2 months. According to the mortgage loan act, the bank has 21 days to make a loan decision from the date of receiving a loan application, and the customer then has 14 days to accept or refuse the decision, meaning that the minimum term of the reservation agreement should be from 1.5 to 2 months.

V. Sales brochure

The sales brochure and attached documents are an integral part of the development and reservation agreements.

The developer has the following obligations in connection with the brochure:

• Persons interested in entering into a development or reservation agreement must be provided with the brochure and attached documents free of charge (prior to entering into the agreement), irrespective of whether they request for the brochure and attached documents;
• In case of any changes in the data or information included in the brochure or attached documents, information about the changes must be provided to persons interested in entering into an agreement in the same form as the brochure, in good time enabling the interested party to review the contents of the documents prior to entering into a reservation or development agreement;
• During the term of any reservation agreement, the developer must inform the reserving party of any changes to the sales brochure or attached documents in a way enabling the reserving party to identify the changes by stating what they concern.

According to the model form specified in the act, the brochure should include i.a. the following information:

• Prior experience of the property developer (example of a completed project);
• Purchase price;
• Date of commencing and completing construction works;
• Date of transfer of ownership of the property to the buyer;
• Information on the property, with details for the scope of finishing works completed in a shell and core built property (date on which the occupancy permit became final and effective or on which the construction of a single family unit was completed, floor area of residential abode or single family unit, price of the property, date of issue of a certificate confirming the separation of a residential abode, date of establishing separate ownership of residential abode, as well as information on the uniform guarantee limit available in case of bankruptcy of the bank where the residential escrow account is kept,
• An outline of the development plan of the project area and its surroundings, showing the building and material considerations concerning the location of the project resulting from the current use of adjoining areas;
• Conditions on which the customer may rescind the development agreement.

VI. Rescinding the development agreement

The development act provides for various deadlines for the rescinding of the development agreement by the buyer:

• 30 days of the date of the agreement if:
  • the development agreement does not include terms required by regulations;
  • information in the development agreement is inconsistent with information in the sales brochure or attached documents;
  • the developer does not provide the buyer with the sales brochure or attached documents or does not inform the buyer of changes to information in the sales brochure or attached documents;
  • data or information in the sales brochure or attached documents based on which the buyer entered into the development agreement are inconsistent with the actual or legal circumstances as at the date of entering into the agreement;
  • the sales brochure based on which the buyer entered into the development agreement does not contain the data or information stipulated in the model sales brochure form;
• 120 days of a date specified in a separate notice if the developer failed to transfer the right of ownership to the buyer within the deadline stipulated in the development agreement;
• 60 days of entering into the development agreement if the developer fails to obtain the consent of the mortgage creditor or promise of the consent referred to in article 25 subsection 1 item 1 or 2 

The developer may rescind the development agreement:

• if the buyer fails to participate in the handover of the residential abode or single family unit or signing of a deed transferring the rights under the development agreement to the buyer despite being twice served with a written notice at least 60 days apart, unless the buyer was unable to participate in the handover or signing due to a force majeure event;
• within 30 days of serving the buyer with a request for payment – if the buyer fails to make the payment within the deadline or in the amount required in the agreement despite being requested in writing to pay the outstanding amounts.

VII. Presumption of admission of defects by the developer

During the handover of the premises, a written record is made where the buyer may specify any defects in the residential abode or single-family unit. The buyer’s refusal to accept the handover of the premises due to a material defect will also be recorded in the record, as well as whether the developer admits or rejects the existence of the material defect.

Within 14 days of signing the record, the developer will be required to provide the buyer with information whether it admits or rejects the existence of the defects with a statement of reasons for its rejection of the defects.

If the developer fails to notify the buyer of its admission or rejection of the existence of defects within the statutory deadline of 14 days, it will be deemed to have accepted these defects.

Where the developer admits the existence of defects, it will be required to remedy them within 30 days of signing the record. If the developer is unable to remedy the defects within this deadline despite exercising due diligence, it will be required to specify a different date for remedying the defects and provide reasons as why it was unable to remedy them within the original deadline; any such new deadline may not cause unreasonable inconvenience for the buyer.

Furthermore, the act entitles the buyer to have the defects remedied at the developer’s expense if the developer fails to remedy the defects within 30 days, fails to specify an additional deadline for remedying the defects and fails to remedy the defects within an additional deadline specified by the buyer.

ASSISTANCE FOR LOAN BORROWERS

High inflation that has been persisting over the recent period, the resulting increase in interest rates and rising mortgage instalments, has forced the search for new solutions to help mortgage borrowers.

Consequently, the Government has adopted a bill on crowdfunding for business ventures and assistance to borrowers, which is expected to come into force on 1 July 2022.

The bill aims to assist in the repayment of mortgage loans. The package of solutions envisaged in the bill consists of three pillars:

• the first pillar assumes the introduction of the so-called “repayment holidays”. It means is that it will be possible to suspend loan repayments for 8 months for all mortgage borrowers who have loans in Polish currency (PLN) and whose real estate is used for their own housing needs. Borrowers will be able to use them in any two months of the third and fourth quarters of the current year and in one month in each quarter of 2023. The repayment holidays will apply to both the principal amount in the instalment and the interest. Additionally, the deadline for repayment of the instalment will be postponed without incurring any additional interest;
• the second pillar of assistance provides for the possibility of subsidising loans for people who are in a difficult financial situation. Hence, the government intends to transfer additional funds to the Borrowers’ Support Fund. As a result, the Fund’s budget will be increased and it will be possible to offer support to more mortgage borrowers than before.

The bill provides that the maximum amount of support will e PLN 2,000, and can be paid out for up to 36 months – which gives a total of PLN 72,000 of aid.

In turn, the repayment of this loan will begin after two years in equal and interest-free 144 instalments.  What is more, a part of the granted support may be cancelled provided that the first 100 instalments are paid on time.

To receive the support set out in this pillar, one of the following conditions will have to be met:

1. at least one of the borrowers must have the status of the unemployed;
2. monthly mortgage repayment costs must exceed 50 percent of monthly income;
3. in 2022, the monthly income after deduction of mortgage costs shall not exceed PLN 1552 per person in a one-person household and PLN 1200 per person in multi-person households;

• in turn, the third pillar assumes the replacement of the WIBOR index (i.e. the index which translates into higher loan instalments) with another index which will allow for lowering loan instalments.

 

CROWDFUNDING PLATFORMS

Furthermore, the bill also adjusts Polish law to EU regulations on crowdfunding for business ventures, i.e. it will regulate the activity of shares based crowdfunding platforms. The activities of crowdfunding platforms will be supervised by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority.  The Authority will have special supervisory powers, e.g. it will be able to suspend specific crowdfunding offers or suspend the providers’ activity. It will also introduce civil and criminal liability regarding the accuracy and truthfulness of information provided in informational documents drawn up in connection with the crowdfunding offer.

The new solutions will be beneficial primarily to small and medium-sized enterprises, which will be able to receive access to optional financing. For them, the limits will be raised, which will allow them to obtain higher capital.

Minister of Health Adam Niedzielski informed at a press conference that from 16 May the state of epidemic will be transformed into the state of epidemic emergency.  The epidemic state was in force in Poland from 20 March 2020.

According to the Act of 5 December 2008 on preventing and combating infections and infectious human diseases, the state of an epidemic is a legal situation introduced in a given area in connection with the occurrence of epidemic in order to undertake anti-epidemic and preventive measures specified in the Act to minimise the effects of the epidemic.

A state of epidemic emergency, on the other hand, is a legal situation introduced in a given area in connection with the risk of an epidemic.

Many restrictions have already been cancelled – since 28 March it has not been necessary to cover the mouth and nose with a mask in closed spaces, with the exception of buildings in which medical activity is carried out and pharmacies. In addition, there is no longer an obligation to be referred for isolation and quarantine due to COVID-19 disease, and Covid wards and temporary hospitals for COVID-19 patients have been closed down.

Since the beginning of April, the rules for prescribing PCR tests have changed – a PCR test can be ordered by a doctor, for example before admission to hospital, if he or she deems it necessary. It is, however, no longer possible to get a free COVID-19 test at, for example, pharmacies and mobile swabbing stations, and it is no longer possible to sign up for a test yourself via online form or via a helpline consultant.

But, the abolishment of the state of epidemic will not actually change much. The provisions of the Covid Law will still remain in force. Most of the regulations amended in connection with the COVID-19 epidemic, are conditional on the existence of either a state of epidemic emergency or a state of epidemic.  Consequently, the introduction of a state of epidemic emergency means that these provisions still remain in force. Only the abolition of both the state of epidemic and the state of epidemic emergency would bring more significant changes.

The Minister’s decision was based on the recent improvement of the epidemic situation in Poland. However, the Minister has not ruled out the possibility that legal changes associated with the increase of coronavirus infections may occur again in the future. Therefore, the situation is being monitored and it is necessary to remain on alert, as there may be another increase in SARS-COV-2 infections in the autumn. In view of this, it is possible that the state of epidemic emergency will be transformed back into a state of epidemic.