Debate at the seat of the Warsaw Stock Exchange: Evolution or revolution of the rules governing the liability of collective entities in light of new legal regulations?

On 7 February 2019, a debate on the draft of act prepared by the Ministry of Justice on the Liability of Collective Entities for Punishable Offences was held at the seat of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Konrad Orlik, advocate, partner at ZIĘBA & PARTNERS Spółka komandytowa [Limited Partnership] Law Firm, and Monika Gorgoń, attorney-at-law, Director of Compliance and Risk Management Department at the Warsaw Stock Exchange, took part in the debate initiated by Izabella Żyglicka, attorney-at-law, founder and partner at Adwokaci i Radcowie Prawni Izabella Żyglicka i Wspólnicy law firm and the parliamentary expert on the Act on the Liability of Collective Entities.

The speakers presented the basic premises of the new draft of the act and discussed in detail the liabilities of the entities that fall within its scope. The experts conducting the debate provided detailed explanations in response to the questions of the gathered persons on the implementation of the new procedures and the role of law enforcement in their interpretation.

Entrepreneurs agreed on the need to increase the effectiveness of prosecuting collective entities in criminal matters. The discussion that spurred after the debate revealed some concerns of the gathered guests, related to discretionary character of the implementation of this new procedure by law enforcement agencies. 

During the debate, the guests made numerous requests to the authors of the draft of the act to present their explanations and opinions. According to Izabella Żyglicka, at the present stage of the draft implementation, all opinions and guidelines of practitioners are invaluable and, as Izabella Żyglicka assured, she would pass them on to people working on the draft.

Regardless of the acceptance or rejection of the planned changes, entrepreneurs and invited guests agreed that the diligence of collective entities on the transparency of operations and their legality was a prerequisite for the effective business management. Positive changes related to adapting one’s own organisations to the compliance principles are always a good investment.