Journal of Business Law 11/2019

The  institution  of  European  Funds  Officer  was  established  in  July  2017  to  assume  responsibility  for  improving  and streamlining the process of performing tasks related to spending EU funds. The task of the European Funds Officer is to monitor and inform individual institutions about the system of implementing proposed improvements in the fulfilment of national and regional operational programmes through his contact with the applicants, beneficiaries and other entities interested in implementing European funds. The article describes the European Funds Officer and his tasks; and presents an  analysis  of  the  activities  of  the  Officer  at  the  Ministry  of  Investment  and  Development,  as  well  as  the  Officers appointed by the regional operational programme managing authorities, on the basis of their annual reports.

The most numerous group of beneficiaries applying for grants from EU funds are entities of the public finance sector obliged  to  obey  the  regulationsof  the  PPL.  The  implementation  of  EU  funds  is  connected  with  a  number  of  legal regulations, both at the EU and Member State level, and the effective absorption of EU funds is inextricably linked to public  procurement  law  procedures.  This  article  presents  the  absorption  of  EU  funds  from  the  largest  operational program in the context of public procurement law procedures, as well as issues related to irregularities identified in the co-financed procurement process.

The aim of this paper is to present in general terms (and not in detail) the challenges concerning the functioning of the institutional structure of consumer protection on the financial market in Poland (consumer protection network on the financial services market), especially in view of the need to counteract the abuses revealed in the post-crisis reality, aimed at providing them with real protection.

It is not about detailed characteristics of legal regulations concerning the status and competences of already functioning bodies and institutions of consumer protection of financial services, but only about indicating problems leading in general dimension  and  certain  proposals  of  conceptual  changes  in  the  construction  of  this  infrastructure  of  the  consumer protection of financial services and its location within the framework of the financial market safety network.

The author, taking as a starting point the current infrastructure of consumer protection in the financial market in Poland and the tasks and competences of the bodies creating it (without their analysis, however), makes an attempt to answer questions that should be undertaken (both in the regulatory and actual), so that these entities create from the institutional (subjective  and  competence)  point  of  view  a  coherent  system,  and  the  consumer  protection  network  in  the  financial market  was  a  guarantee  of  the  actual  enforcement  of  consumer  financial  market  law  (consumer  protection  law  for financial services), both in the public and private legal dimension.

In particular, the author will propose the components of which this institutional structure should be built and what forms of  cooperation  between  them  would  be  indicated,  in  particular  whether  there  is  a  need  to  create  new  bodies  (new elements)  of  this  structure  equipped  with  additional  competences  and  tasks?  (without,  however,  taking  into  account detailed considerations in this respect, but only at the level of the general concept). Due to the limited framework of the present  study,  it  is  not  the  Author's  goal  to  present  exhaustively  the  entire  concept  and  proposal  of  changes  in  the structure (network) of consumer protection in the financial market, but only to signal the need and necessity to undertake a discourse, both at the theoretical and practical level in this area.

The subject of the article is the liability for defects of construction services under provisions of German civil law. The discussion  is  focused  on  solutions  adopted  by  German  legislator  in  the  provisions  of  §  633–635  and  §  638  BGB (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch) and in the VOB/B (Allgemeine Vertragsbedingungen für die Ausführung von Bauleistungen), which latest amendment entered entered into force on 18.04.2016. Particular emphasis was placed on discussing the rights of the orderer for defects in construction works. Due to the significant scope of cooperation between Polish and German construction companies, the presented topics are of not only comparative but also practical legal importance.

The  so  called  "schoolbook  amendment"  to  the  Education  System  Act  adopted  in  2014  introduced  new  provisions regulating marketing practices of schoolbook publishers. For the first time in history, the amendment implemented two provisions prohibiting particular practices classified by the legislator as unfair competition acts. The first ban applies to offering, promising or granting any benefits, directly or indirectly, to schools or teachers in consideration for choosing specific  textbooks,  educational  materials  or  practice  materials.  The  legislator  wishes  to  eliminate  corruption-related phenomena in the school-publisher relation. The second ban applies to offering a textbook in combination with another textbook  or  additional  teaching  materials  meant  for  schoolchildren.  This  way,  it  applies  to  a  certain  type  of  tying arrangements that occur in the publishing market. In both cases, these brand new types of unfair competition acts are subject to critical assessment as part of the extended regulation shaping the legal framework applicable to the Polish market of textbooks and related educational aids offered by publishers.

The subject of the article is a new mode of proceedings in a business lawsuit. It is regulated in the Code of Civil Procedure under the Act of 4 July 2019 which will enter into force 3 months after its publication. The author describes this new regulation. He highlights new rules pertaining to bringing of evidence and restrictions related to parties declarations and motions for evidence. He underlines that it should let the court finish the proceedings in six months.