| In Principle

Trading in counterfeit goods is not just an economic problem, but is first and foremost a crime that victimises honest businesses, undermining principles of fair competition and trust of consumers built up over years. It is important to be aware of the consequences facing perpetrators of these offences, and how an injured company can effectively protect its brand.

As the energy transition progresses, and volatility rocks the energy commodities markets, Poland is not exploiting the potential of biogas and biomethane—generation of electricity and heat from local substrates. The main reasons given for this state of affairs is the lack of relevant regulations for supporting the production of biomethane and for applying technologies increasing the efficiency of projects in this area. The industry’s expectations may at least partially be met by the plans announced by the Ministry of Climate and Environment to amend the Renewable Energy Sources Act.

When a party to a transaction was labouring under a mistake about the substance of the transaction, the party may be able to avoid the legal consequences of its stated intent to enter into the transaction. But what if the mistake arose in the preliminary stage leading up to the transaction, for example during the negotiations?

In the contemporary practice of secured financing, the registered pledge on a set of movables or property rights is an extremely common form of security. This is a flexible instrument which at least in theory gives the financing parties a sense that they hold collateral in the borrower’s entire enterprise (apart from real estate, which cannot be encumbered by a pledge). But when taking security interests in property rights, it is necessary to consider various contractual or statutory restrictions on the freedom to assign rights.

According to the American doctrine of foreign affairs pre-emption, in a federation the conduct of foreign affairs must be reserved for the federal government. If member states are allowed to pursue their own international agendas, it can embarrass the union and prevent it from speaking with one voice and from acting effectively on the international stage. Hence, member states should not only refrain from contradicting the federal government in international relations, but must not take any individual action in foreign affairs—even if the federal government remains silent on a particular issue of foreign policy. This negative aspect of the doctrine of foreign affairs pre-emption is called the “dormant foreign affairs pre-emption doctrine.”

Banks’ liability for unauthorised payment transactions is one of the leading issues in the law of payment services. It directly affects the scope of protection of consumers using modern payment instruments. In an age of dynamic growth in electronic banking and a rising number of cyber offences, this problem takes on particular importance for users of payment services and for financial institutions.

There is growing interest in obtaining a Polish passport, as a document confirming citizenship of the Republic of Poland but also of the European Union. According to data from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, 16,647 people obtained Polish citizenship in 2024 (up from 12,166 in 2023 and 7,960 in 2021). Thus the number (and duration) of administrative proceedings concerning Polish citizenship are also rising.

How we treat foreign investors and traders in Europe is not just a matter of their rights. It is also a matter of our rights and interests. Whether we, as Europeans, can buy electronics from Chinese manufacturers is as much a matter of these manufacturers’ freedom to operate on the European market as it is a matter of our freedom to choose suppliers and to engage in trade with whom we want. Whether European contractors must compete with their Turkish counterparts for public infrastructure works in the EU is as much a matter of the Turks’ freedom to provide their services to European governments as it is a matter of our right to have our public funds spent efficiently. Obviously, these rights and freedoms are not absolute and can be limited for the sake of other important values. But the decision to do so is a consequential one.

The Polish parliament passed the Act on Restitution of National Cultural Goods eight years ago, but the public is hardly aware of it. Nor is much known about how the act functions in practice. Nonetheless, the restitution of artworks remains a lively topic

On 22 October 2025, at the Polish Chamber of Commerce in Warsaw, Prof. Piotr Machnikowski provided an overview of the work underway in the Codification Commission on new regulations for construction contracts. If the proposal becomes law, it will be a fundamental change for the entire Polish construction market.

In disputes over consumer credit, banks deal not only with consumers but also with companies whose business is to buy up claims from consumers, including claims related to the sanction of “free credit.” But this procedure generates many questions. Can consumers sell their claims against the bank? If so, under what conditions can the acquirer pursue the claim before the court?

Contrary to popular belief, funding institutions’ claims for reimbursement of EU financing are not eternal. The national and EU regulations provide certain timeframes beyond which the institution loses the right to demand return of the funds. More and more frequently businesses which carried out and accounted for projects years before, financed from EU funds, are now receiving demands to repay the funds, often in connection with irregularities uncovered in subsequent audits. Does the institution still have the right to demand repayment five, eight, or even ten years after the project is completed?