POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tomasz Konopka, Katarzyna Randzio-Sajkowska, Katarzyna Stradomska-Balcerzyk and Michał Zieliński, Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak
trator is liable to a standard fine, restriction of liberty, or imprisonment for a period of up to two years. In the event that such reproduction or copying involves marking the products with counterfeit trademarks in order to introduce them to trading, or trading in such counterfeit products, under Article 305 of the Indus - trial Property Law (IPL), the perpetrator is liable to a standard fine, restriction of liberty, or imprisonment for a period of up to two years. Note that, under Article 305 of the IPL, no damage to another entrepreneur is required for the liability to apply. A stricter regime applies to perpetrators who deal with counterfeit goods of significant value or make such criminal activ - ity a permanent source of their income. Such perpe - trators are liable to imprisonment for a period of six months to five years. 3.2 Bribery, Influence Peddling and Related Offences The CC provides for the criminal liability of both the person accepting a bribe and the person offering it in all types of bribery crimes covered by legal provisions. Separate provisions regulate issues related to liability for official, international and business corruption. The subject of a bribe may be material or personal benefit. Material and personal benefit includes both the benefit for oneself as well as for another person. Criminal conduct may consist in giving, accepting, demanding or making a promise of benefits. Criminal liability for handling or promising a bribe may be imposed on each individual. However, liability var - ies according to the function performed by the person accepting the bribe. In the case of an offence of “public corruption”, the person accepting the bribe is a person performing a public function (this is a notion broader than that of a “public official”). Pursuant to Article 115, Section 19 of the CC, a person performing a public function is a public officer, a member of a self-government authori - ty, a person employed in an organisational entity using public funds, unless they exclusively perform service duties, and any other person whose public activity and duties are established or recognised by a statute or by an international agreement binding on the Republic of Poland. The term “public corruption” also refers to
persons performing a public function in a foreign state or international organisation. Polish law does not define the minimum value of a material benefit, which is considered to be the profit gained by the person who accepts the bribe. There - fore, this may be an act that increases the assets or reduces the liabilities of the person accepting the bribe. Money and hospitality expenditures, gifts and promotional expenditures, or facilitation payments of considerable material value, are always classified as material benefits. As already described, provisions of criminal law also provide for criminal liability in the case of corrupt con - duct in business relations. It is a crime to corrupt a person holding a managerial function in a business entity or an employee of a business entity in exchange for abuse of the powers granted to them or for the non- performance of their duty, which may cause material damage to that entity, or which may constitute an act of unfair competition or an inadmissible preferential act in favour of a buyer or recipient of goods, services or performances. If, as a result of actions taken by a corrupt manager or employee, damage is caused that is in excess of PLN200,000, then the Act provides for a more severe penalty. 3.3 Anti-Bribery Regulation Legal Framework for Offences – International Conventions Poland has signed up to numerous international con - ventions related to anti-bribery and anti-corruption. Poland was admitted to the European Council on 26 November 1991 and is a party to the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption of 27 January 1999 (which came into effect on 1 April 2003). Since 1 August 2014, Poland has also been subject to the Additional Pro - tocol to the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption. In addition, Poland ratified the United Nations Con - vention against Corruption on 15 September 2006. The OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of For - eign Public Officials in International Business Transac - tions, drawn up in Paris on 17 December 1997, has been in force in Poland since 7 November 2000.
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