POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tomasz Konopka, Katarzyna Randzio-Sajkowska and Jakub Kocuba, Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak
the anti-corruption officer and staff in the organi - sational control and internal audit units. The gift policy should provide that an official, in the course of his/her official duties representing the institution at a meeting at national or interna - tional level, may accept a gift on condition that: • the meeting is of an official nature; • the gift is of a symbolic nature and value; • the gift is of a voluntary nature and is not enforced by any party; and • the gift is of a souvenir nature. An essential and mandatory part of an effec - tive gift policy should be the establishment and maintenance of a gift register to document the receipt or giving of gifts on behalf of or for the represented institution in certain official situa - tions. For companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange SA, there are also “Recommended Standards for the Anti-Corruption Compliance Management System and Whistleblower Pro - tection System for Companies Listed on the Markets of the Warsaw Stock Exchange SA”. It is recommended that the Company has and adheres to the Company’s Anti-Corruption Code as a proclamation to spread and promote com - pliance, ethical activities and explicit rejection of corruption. It is recommended that, in addition to the statement of opposition to corruption, the anti-corruption code should include: • a description of how to identify potential cor - ruption risks and how to respond to incidents of corruption; • a description of the company’s values with respect to relationships among employ - ees, with supervisors, and with employees,
contractors, and partners, including business partners; • a description of how conflicts of interest are avoided; • general rules on giving and receiving gifts in business relationships; • general rules for the reporting of irregularities and abuses and for the protection of whistle- blowers; and • principles of liability for failure to comply with the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Code. 8.3 Compliance Monitorships Under Polish law, law enforcement authorities do not have the option of seeking a compli - ance monitor as part of a corporate resolution. As mentioned, legal provisions do not impose an obligation on business entities to implement compliance programmes. Polish anti-corruption legislation has been offi - cially evaluated by the OECD several times. The OECD published its latest report on Poland’s implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Con - vention in 2022. The report focused on develop - ments since Poland was reviewed in 2013 and 2015. According to the latest report, Poland had fully implemented ten Phase 3 recommendations, had partially implemented five, and had not implemented a further five. 9. Assessment 9.1 Assessment of the Applicable Enforced Legislation The Working Group is concerned that Poland has not implemented previous key recommen - dations that are fundamental to fighting foreign bribery. Corporate fines for this crime remain
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