Sejm adopts law on lobbying

Almost unanimously the Sejm adopted the law on lobbying specifying the principles of registration, reporting and accreditation of lobbyists. The MPs adopted all amendments forwarded to the chamber during the 2nd reading and passed by the chamber extraordinary committee for the law on lobbying. In line with the law lobbying covers all legal actions aimed at exerting influence on public authorities in the process of law-making. The law also introduces a notion of „professional lobbying” that means lobbying for other people in exchange for money. Entities carrying out this type of activity are obliged to write their data in a special register otherwise a fine ranging between 3,000 PLN and 50,000 PLN will be imposed on them. (Money from the fine will go to the state budget). In line with the law the government will prepare at least once in six months a program of legislative work regards draft laws that will be available in the Public Information Bulletin BIP. Similar programs will be prepared in case of draft ordinances. BIP will also publish names of all people interested in the work on the law or draft ordinance if their applications are presented on an official filling form. Later the interested person or unit will be entitled to take part in a public „hearing” of the draft . After that it will have the right to present its own opinion on the draft in line with the binding law and in a clear way. The Sejm standing orders do not contain the institution of public hearing. The Sejm extraordinary committee for the law on lobbying adopted a related resolution introducing it. The adopted law also envisages that chairmen of parliamentary floor groups or circles will be obliged to submit to the Sejm or Senate speakers information about the social partners of the caucus or the circle including the information about the person, his/her income sources, and business operations from 3 years prior to employing the person in the office. Also the minister will have the obligation to report to the PM similar data on his political cabinet employees. The law on lobbying was prepared by the government and will still have to be examined by the Senate.
 

Sejm adopts law changing perpetual usufruct into ownership right

The Sejm adopted a law changing the right to perpetual usufruct into the ownership right. The law relates to real estate built for housing purposes, for housing cars in a garage or agricultural real estate. The law states that entitled to become owners will be all who use the property on the day of the law enactment and their legal heirs. The above mentioned regulations are aimed at leveling the rights of owners of flats in housing cooperatives with those holding flats in housing communities. The law contains a regulation introducing the principle of payment for changing the status. The payment will be based on the real estate value of the property. At the same time it creates the opportunity to grant an allowance of unlimited value as regards rural properties and those assigned for houses.
However, there is an obligation to repay the allowance if the property was used for other purposes or sold in 5 years from the date of the transformation. Free-of-charge transformation will apply to those to whom real estate was given in a perpetual usufruct in exchange for taking away their ownership rights or the rights to real estate before December 5, 1990.
It will also apply to those who gained perpetual usufruct on the basis of the October 26, 1945 decree on the ownership and use of land on the territory of Warsaw. Motions for transformation may be submitted only till the end of 2012.
 

State compensation for victims of certain crimes

A person wronged as a result of a crime with the use of force or his/her relatives will be entitled to compensation in the amount of 12,000 PLN, under the law on state compensations to victims of certain crimes passed by the Sejm. In line with the law the compensation will only cover lost means or maintenance costs of the victim, the cost of medical treatment or a burial if it is a result of the crime.
Compensations will be granted only when it turns out impossible to collect the money from the perpetrators irrespective of the fact whether or not the perpetrator was apprehended and sentenced. The compensation is not aimed to replace other forms of compensations but to make up for losses that cannot be covered in any way. Motions for compensations submitted by the entitled person (the victims of the crime or his/her relatives will be examined by a civilian department of the district court proper for the territory where the crime has been committed. In line with the draft the justice minister is to issue an ordinance specifying the motion form. Information about the way of applying for compensation will be divulged to the wronged by the prosecutor’s office.
Compensations will be granted to Poles or EU citizens in two-year time from the date of the crime and under the condition that no other compensation has been paid from another source. Enclosed to the motion should be a medical statement, documents from penal proceedings given to the victim recognized as a wronged person. The accepted compensation should be paid in 1 month from the date of the verdict being legally binding. It should however be returned if proceedings are dropped or a not guilty verdict is passed because no crime was committed. Prosecutor’s offices will mediate in conveying motions for compensations submitted in Poland to other EU countries where compensations are granted on similar principles as in Poland. Also, Polish prosecutor’s offices may hear the wronged or resort to remote hearing via the Internet cameras if the need arises.
 

Sejm approves European system of toll roads

The Sejm adopted a law enabling the introduction of a uniform, electronic, European system of collecting payments for using roads, bridges and tunnels. The law does not specify the date when the law takes effect as it will be set by the infrastructure minister. However, it has been stipulated in the law that payments collected from cars weighting no less than 3.5 tons and carrying not more than 9 passengers will be in force no sooner than on January 1, 2009 and for the remainder no sooner than on January 1, 2011. The law also stipulates technologies that can be used in introducing the system. It will be one of three possibilities either the satellite positioning system, the radio communication system based on GSM-GPRS standard or 5.8 GHz frequency radio system. The law does not put the obligation on drivers to install related equipment able to cooperate with payment collecting systems in the EU though the obligation to offer such equipment has been put on road managers.
 

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