By Beata Gołębiewska
7 November 2007

Noose Tightens on Alimony Debtors

Alimony judgments will soon be enforced throughout the European Union without the need to initiate additional legal proceedings. Under rules approved by the European Parliament and Council, alimony rulings passed in one member state will be recognized and enforced in all member states. Each state will be required to set up special agencies to share information on defaulters and help evaluate their net worth. People owed alimony will be able to receive the money straight from debtors’ salaries and debit their bank accounts.

Poland, Belgium Share Data on Workers

Polish companies sending staff to Belgium will have to be prepared for inspections by the local authorities. Poland’s chief labor inspector and the head of Belgium’s federal department of employment, labor and social dialogue have agreed to share data on employees in each others’ countries. The agreement mainly seeks to ensure employment protection and compliance with occupational health and safety regulations.

Poland has already signed similar agreements with the Netherlands and Norway.

EU Warns Warsaw Over Notaries

The European Commission has rebuked eight EU member states, including Poland, for hindering citizens of other member states from practicing as notaries. If the warning is not heeded then a case will be referred to the European Court of Justice. Charlie McCreevy, EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, believes that by allowing only Polish citizens to practice as a notary, Poland is breaching the EU principle of free enterprise as well as a directive on mutual recognition of qualifications.

Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary are the other countries to have been rebuked. The commission cites Estonia, Italy and Portugal as countries which have abolished the restriction of citizenship.

Prison Service Will Be Modernized

The prison service will recruit more staff, pay will rise and guards will be better equipped under plans to modernize the prison system. The justice ministry has prepared a draft bill to carry out the drive between 2008 and 2010 at a cost of zl.900 million. The service’s car fleet, including prison vans, will be replaced with 300 new vehicles. Prisons will also be given metal detectors and devices to x-ray parcels along with new rescue and fire protection equipment. More prison officers are to be employed, a move intended to increase staff safety. Some 4,000 more employees are needed.

Scientists to Join Forces

Research conducted in parallel at different research centers will be brought together in state scientific institutions under a draft bill recently adopted by the government. These institutions will be created by transforming the way research centers at the Polish Academy of Sciences, public institutions of higher education and other research and development organizations operate.

The legislators behind the bill argue that the research potential in Polish science is not integrated enough. This is because research in a given field is often broken up into minor projects carried out at different centers under different authorities. As a result, EU funds have to be parceled out between various centers, leaving the overall field of research underfunded.

Price Plan Changes ‘Too Costly’

Polish cell phone operators are overcharging for changing price plans and removing SIM locks, according to the Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK). Charges for switching to a cheaper price plan are several times higher than those for switching to a more expensive one. The UOKiK insists that switching either way is essentially the same service and that there is no justification for compensating operators for loss of profit. Marek Niechciał, president of the UOKiK, adds that zl.610 is excessive for removing a SIM lock. Consumers are usually unaware that short text messages (SMS) containing Polish characters are more costly as they take up more space. Users who complain about faulty phones are also being given the runaround between operators and dealers.

Law Firms Marks 10 Years

The Lengiewicz Wrońska Berezowska i Wspólnicy Kancelaria Prawnicza S.C. law firm celebrated its tenth anniversary Oct. 9 at the Prymasowski Palace in Warsaw.
The ceremony was attended by Jose Bernardez Gumiel, the economic and commercial affairs counselor of the Spanish embassy in Poland, and Mercedes Nuñez, the embassy’s commercial affairs counselor.

“We have 10 years of intense and extremely productive work behind us,” said Anna Lengiewicz, a partner in the law firm. “Our success allows us to make bold plans for the future. We are aiming at further, extensive law practice development in areas such as real estate, construction investment, the energy sector and telecommunications.”

The law firm is a member of the Global Real Estate Institute (GRI), an organization that groups key players on the real estate market, including investors, owners and developers who operate in Central and Eastern Europe and neighboring regions. The firm specializes in legal services for Spanish enterprises in the real estate and renewable energy sectors. Its clients include investors from Ireland and Israel.

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