Journal of Business Law 08/2026

The current system of decentralized enforcement of Art. 101 and 102 TFEU sets up a flexible system of parallel enforcement competences of the European Commission and National Competition Authorities. This article discusses the current phenomenon of increasing NCA activity in the field of competition enforcement against EU-wide practices implemented by global market players operating in the digital environment. NCAs’ overactivity in this field leads to multiplication of legal investigations and raises legitimate questions of the effectiveness of competition enforcement, as well as predictability and proportionality. Based on such arguments, the article suggests to introduce a more centralized, consistent approach in reference to EU-wide infringements and, complementarily, to reform fining rules, which should ensure proportionality of fines for such competition restrictions.

The article deals with the newly introduced Global Minimum Tax, which is relevant for more than 140 countries. The EU law has also developed a legislative framework for the EU Member States that implemented this solution into their national legal orders. Due to its wide reach, its significance for countering international tax avoidance, and implementation challenges associated with it, the Global Minimum Tax has become a spectacular and pioneering event, which has been crucial for the global tax order. The main objective of this article was to perform a detailed analysis of the benefits and challenges arising from the introduction of the Global Minimum Tax in the EU Member States, with particular emphasis placed on Poland and including analysis of implementation effects. The author ponders a claim that the implementation of the Global Minimum Tax in the EU Member States will contribute to the improvement of the operation of the tax system due to reduction in tax avoidance practiced by international corporations, which in turn will increase fiscal justice. At the same time, this process may involve considerable implementation challenges not only for the tax administrations but also for the capital groups that the tax applies to as well as for individual countries that may be affected by the potential reduction in foreign investment inflows.

The subject of this publication is the classification of the companies Telewizja Polsat Sp. z o.o. and TVN S.A. as entities subject to protection within the meaning of the Act on the Control of Certain Investments of 24 July 2015. This classification of media companies is questionable. Polsat and TVN were included in the government’s list declaratorily on account of their telecommunications activities (broadcasting of programmes), rather than their core media activities (creation of audiovisual content). Meanwhile, an implementing regulation should be issued on the basis of a specific authorisation and must not go beyond the scope of the Act. Furthermore, the publication compares national solutions with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The EMFA prohibits state interference in media content, whereas making a change in control over a media service provider dependent on a decision by an executive authority (the Minister of State Assets) may violate the principle of media independence. Furthermore, EU standards emphasise the transparency of media service providers’ ownership structures, which should be a permanent feature of monitoring rather than an ad hoc intervention by the government. The conclusions of the publication are as follows: the state’s instruments of control over the activities of media companies should be defined in an act, be objectively justified, proportionate and non-discriminatory, and should be linked to the constitutional status and powers of the National Broadcasting Council, rather than to a constitutional minister.

The article analyses the issue of limitation periods o of administrative fines imposed by the President of the Polish Data Protection Authority (PUODO) for violations of the GDPR. The aim of the publication is to assess whether the absence of an explicit regulation on limitation periods directly in the GDPR excludes the application of national provisions on this matter, as set out in the Code of Administrative Procedure. The authors argue that the five-year limitation period for both the imposition and enforcement of a fine, established in Article 189g of the Code of Administrative Procedure, should apply to penalties provided for in Art. 83 of the GDPR. The article also discusses the opposing view, reflected in the positions of the supervisory authority, which questions the permissibility of applying national limitation period to the sanctions arising from the GDPR. The article employs several mutually complementary research methods, including the dogmatic-legal method, which involves analysing and interpretation of the content of applicable law, both EU and national, as well as the decisions of the President of the UODO and the case law of courts and tribunals. Additionally, the historical-legal method was used to show the evolution of the statute of limitations in administrative proceedings.

The aim of this article is to critically examine two statements. First, the assertion that crypto-assets consume vast amounts of energy and therefore have a negative impact on the environment. Second, the view that this issue is not addressed at all. These claims are examined primarily from the perspective of the MiCA Regulation, taking into account not only the final text of the legal act, but also its initial draft and the amendments proposed by the European Parliament during the legislative process. The paper concludes that the negative environmental impact is not so much related to cryptoassets in general, but rather to the high energy consumption of some consensus mechanisms. Furthermore, the paper notes that this issue has been widely discussed and has led to changes in the MiCAR text.

The article presents the key stages of conducting ESG due diligence, along with a list of questions that can be used to assess a company’s level of maturity in sustainable development management across individual stages of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The article analyses the legal requirements for incorporating ESG issues into M&A processes, especially regarding the identification, assessment, and disclosure of sustainability-related risks and opportunities. It also provides a comprehensive review of the academic literature on due diligence in both transactional and ESG contexts. Furthermore, the article explores the integration of ESG due diligence into the transactional process. The article may be particularly useful for M&A practitioners facing the challenges of effectively embedding ESG aspects into their ongoing processes.

Sanction of gratuitous loan transposes EU law into the Polish legal system. This has a number of legal consequences, as it means that national law is saturated with content derived indirectly from EU law. The aim of this publication is to assess whether the sanction of gratuitous loan meets the criteria for a sanction from the perspective of Article 23 of Directive 2008/48. In addition, it discusses other difficulties associated with the application of the sanction of gratuitous loan, arising in particular from the proportionality of the sanction.

The subject of this commentary is an analysis and assessment of the decision of the Supreme Court of 19 March 2023, III CZ 427/22, which addresses the effects of the unauthorized electronic filing of a pleading in civil proceedings. In the commented decision, the Supreme Court adopted a position partially diverging from that previously expressed in its resolution of 23 May 2012, III CZP 9/12, which has since become established in judicial practice. In particular, the Supreme Court held that filing a pleading electronically in circumstances not provided for in specific provisions does not give rise to an obligation on the part of the court to undertake either factual actions (such as printing the document) or procedural actions (such as requesting that formal deficiencies be remedied by signing the pleading). This approving commentary aims to demonstrate the validity of the position adopted by the Supreme Court, while at the same time identifying the risks associated with an alternative practice.