Sejm adopts Senate’s amendments to law on civil service

The Sejm adopted the Senate’s amendments to the law on civil service introducing the obligation to publish (including via the Internet) information about all vacant state posts. The Senate’s amendments put in order regulations adopted by the Sejm.
In line with the amendment names of candidates applying for posts and those who win the posts should be made public.
The same regulations will relate to other state administration institutions - agencies, funds, ZUS (social insurance fund) and KRUS (insurance for farmers). The law relates to 100,000 posts including Civil Service head and his/her deputy that will have to be selected via contest. The amendment also includes an entry that higher civil service posts can be performed only by a member of the civil service corps (a nominated official) for 6 months at the utmost. The term of office can be prolonged only once for three months. The amendment has been sent to the president for his signature.
 

Sejm amends law on health terms of food and nutrition

The Sejm amended the law on health terms of food and nutrition obliging food producers to carry our permanent internal inspections and the documentation of the inspections.
Food producing, storing, trading and transport are regulated by the EU rules. Producers operating on the territory of the EU are obliged to adhere to the so called HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System). Regulations adjusting the Polish law to the EU in this field have been introduced but are imperfect. EU experts have pointed out that there is lack of penal sanctions for lack of implementation of HACCP.
The amendment is aimed at making up for this type of inadvertence. The MPs supported the amendment introducing fines, freedom limitation or an up to one-year prison term for poorquality food produce or for launching on the market of GMO without related permits. The MPs also decided to postpone the enactment of the law from 14 days to 30
days after it is made public.
 

Sejm adopts amendment to law on cultural activity

An entry of an amendment adopted by the Sejm introduces the possibility of writing off debts of cultural institutions which had been burdened with payments related to the management of their property ascribed to them by the law which transformed them into legal entities before 1991, that means theatres and philharmonic halls. The institutions which gained the status of legal entities after 1991 or, libraries were exempted from these payments. At present institutions with real estate mortgage securing future claims may now apply for European funds. The amendment improves the way of financing culture institute run by local government which now may receive subsidies directly from the budget of the culture minister and not via local government units
as it has been so far.
Local government units will also be able to grant subsidies for investments to culture institutes, schools and artistic institutes run by the culture minister. The nongovernmental organizations NGOs will be able to get subsidies from the culture minister on the basis of the National Culture Strategy for 2004-2013. By the new law artistic institutes as well as premises rented for artistic activities cannot be treated as premises for running business. The MPs also liquidated the distinction “Merited Culture Activists” assigned only to Poles and introduces the distinction “Merited for the Polish Culture,” for Poles and foreigners alike. Also introduced have been three classes of the “Merited to Culture Gloria
Artis” medal. The medal will be granted to Polish and foreign artists most merited to the Polish culture.
 

Sejm amends law on insecticidal products

The Sejm unequivocally amended the law on insecticidal products adjusting legal regulations to European Union requirements.
The draft is also to amend some of entries to eliminate possible difference in interpretation.
The EU directive admits trading in biocides in line with procedures and practices binding in a given EU country until May 14, 2010. Meanwhile the regulation applying to the transitory period did not unequivocally specify legal doubts as to the principles of granting license for the products. The amendment adjusts the date from which the transitory period is calculated to make it identical with the date included in the regulationsof the directive. In to-date wording of the law on biocides the transitory period was calculated from the date of its being enacted or, December 1, 2002 whereas in line with the directive it should be calculated as of May 14, 2000. An additional chapter of the amendment specifies toxicological means requiring medical consultations in cases of biocide poisoning as well as principles and the way of their functioning.
 

Tribunal: regulations on access to profession of diagnostic unconstitutional

The Constitutional Tribunal deems unconstitutional regulations of the law on laboratory diagnosis specifying the access to the profession of the diagnostic. A motion to this effect has been submitted by the Polish Chamber of Physicians and Dentists according to which the law limits physicians’ access to this profession. The judges decided that
unconstitutional regulations will become null and void on June 30, 2006 due to the need for regulating the “entire question” of access to the profession of laboratory diagnostics which stems from the aim of the law, namely the protection of public health. The tribunal ruled that the said regulations are not precise.
Besides, they leave too much room for decision to schools or professional corporations by-rules whereas these questions should be regulated by the law. The Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the law leaves room for interpretation in line with which the status of laboratory diagnostic may be granted to a person not being properly trained for the profession and, on the other hand, it does not give a guarantee to people well prepared for the profession to be written into the list of diagnostics.

Government adopts Strategy for Health Care Development for period of 2007 and 2013

The government adopted the National Strategy for Health Care
Development for the period of 2007 and 2013.
One of the strategic goals includes improvement in health safety by e.g. easy access to paramedics.
The goal specified that “improvement in efficiency of health care operations” envisages the streamlining of demand for health care services. The strategy envisages the adjustment of health care to changing demographic tendencies via improvement in mother-child care.
 

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