Agnieszka Trzaska-Śmieszek
Magdalena OsmędaWe are following the legislative process concerning the government draft bill amending the Act on Pursuing Claims in Group Proceedings and certain other acts (Sejm print no. 437), which aims to implement into Polish law Directive (EU) 2020/1828 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2020 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers and repealing Directive 2009/22/EC (hereinafter: “Directive 2020/1828” or “RAD”).
The draft was submitted to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland on June 6, 2024; on June 11, 2024, it was referred for its first reading at a plenary session of the Sejm.
On June 26, 2024, the first reading was held during a Sejm session, after which the draft was referred to the Committee on Economy and Development and the Committee on Justice and Human Rights. The Marshal of the Sejm set the deadline for the committee report for July 22, 2024.
During the session, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), Tomasz Chróstny, presented the rationale behind the draft bill. In his speech, the President of UOKiK drew attention, among other things, to issues related to the financing of proceedings initiated by authorized entities. He also explained the reasons behind the significant delay in the implementation of Directive 2020/1828: “Member States were required to apply the provisions implementing the Directive as of June 25, 2023. The delay in implementing this Directive into the Polish legal system stems, among other things, from the need to precisely regulate the proposed mechanisms and court procedures while ensuring appropriate safeguards for entrepreneurs”.¹
Next, representatives of parliamentary clubs and groups took the floor. In their speeches, members from all political factions unanimously supported the draft bill, emphasizing that it is a regulation of great importance for consumer protection.
There was also a suggestion that, in connection with the legislative work on the bill implementing Directive 2020/1828, the existing group proceedings regulations should be reviewed more broadly and amended in light of the now 14 years of experience with the functioning of class actions in Poland.
Responding to this proposal, the President of UOKiK stated: “As for issues concerning the Class Actions Act, this falls under the competence of the Ministry of Justice. Already at the drafting stage, there were calls to revise this act alongside the implementation of the directive. The Ministry of Justice has declared its intention to discuss the currently functioning draft also within the codification commission, likely in the area of civil law. There is indeed room to discuss the Class Actions Act and strive to improve group proceedings on a separate track – independently of this implementation, which indeed requires fairly swift transposition into Polish law”.²
The course of the first reading allows for cautious optimism that, given the political consensus, the legislative procedure will proceed efficiently.
We will continue to provide updates on further developments in the legislative process.
We also encourage you to review our previous posts, where we discuss the main assumptions of the draft bill implementing Directive 2020/1828.
¹ Excerpt from the “Stenographic Report of the 14th Session of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland on June 26, 2024 (first day of proceedings)”
https://orka2.sejm.gov.pl/StenoInter10.nsf/0/EAF0B6AB89A9E74DC1258B4800805E7C/$File/14_a_ksiazka.pdf
² Excerpt from the “Stenographic Report of the 14th Session of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland on June 26, 2024 (first day of proceedings)”
https://orka2.sejm.gov.pl/StenoInter10.nsf/0/EAF0B6AB89A9E74DC1258B4800805E7C/$File/14_a_ksiazka.pdf
