Volume 11 (2021): Issue 2 (December 2021)

Without some of the important information brought into light by whistleblowers, many current scandals would not have occurred. It is undeniable that whistleblowing brought into the public domain can insert a previously unforeseen and incorrigible milestone in the biography of whistleblowers, which can lead to financial loss, loss of work, affect private life, and even health. Even in situations where the whistleblower acts in good faith, he runs the risk of being publicly judged and having his reputation tarnished by lack of protection. Reporting persons may even be driven to complete isolation or pay with their lives or that of their families. In view of this, the European Union has foreseen in a new directive a better protection for whistleblowers, through the implementation of a trilateral whistleblower system.

The main new feature of the European Whistleblower Protection Directive is the obligation to establish internal whistleblower channels for legal entities in the public and private sectors with at least 50 or more employees. In the public sector, Member States may exempt cities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants or fewer than 50 employees working in the public body from the obligation to establish whistleblowing channels. If the report to the company or public body is not successful, the whistleblower may report to the press.

European legislators have until December 2021 to transpose the provisions of this directive into national whistleblower protection regulations.

New quality that has been delivered by the provisions of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 is intended to secure a higher level of safety for personal data processing operations. The following elaboration was produced as an attempt to address the questions regarding practical methods of implementation for the indispensable mechanism of GDPR compliance. The guidelines contained in the article are supposed to be helpful in enhancing the safety level for processed personal data. Theoretical and legal studies over the status and functioning of the valid legislation with reference to the practical application of personal data processing procedures have been applied in the article. The main sources of knowledge included valid legal acts, opinions from Article 29 Working Party, technical norms as well as available general knowledge. The outcomes of the said studies indicated the complexity of the issue and established the necessity to continue further studies in practical implementation methods, such as the national and European mechanism of certification or sector codes of good practices.

In accordance with the principle of freedom of contract, expressed in Article 353¹ of the Civil Code, the parties may shape the legal relationship at their own discretion, inter alia, by including valorisation clauses. Many years of market stabilisation, especially the low inflation rate, led to almost unreflective contracting in business. A number of contracts concluded in recent years do not contain any mechanisms that would allow a change of remuneration due to the change of economic conditions, including in particular, increase of prices. Currently, due to the unstable economic situation and constantly rising inflation, indexation clauses should be widely used to protect parties’ interests. This article focuses on such clauses and the options available to the contracting parties in the absence of incorporation of such reservations in contract. The first part of the article discusses the issue of the indexation clause itself, followed by the issue of protecting the parties from potential losses caused by uncertainty of trade. The following part of article will focus on the secondary action needed to mitigate losses caused by market instability and lack of prior inclusion of indexation clauses in the concluded contract.

After years of armed conflict and talks with international organisations, the Kosovo authorities agreed to establish an independent judicial body to prosecute the perpetrators of international crimes that took place during the liberation of Kosovo between 1998 and 2000. The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office, with its jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other crimes under Kosovo law is one of the newest judicial bodies operating in the international arena. Despite several years of activity of this body, it is not clear whether Kosovo Specialist Chambers is an international court or a hybrid court in its pure form. Outlining the characteristics of a typical hybrid court, followed by an analysis of the legal framework and functioning of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers will allow for a determination of whether this court is a hybrid court or a completely new type of.

The article is an attempt to draw attention to the intention of the Ministry of Family and Social Policy to shape its own legal policy with regard to the ability of the officials of the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) to obtain information about individuals subject to official control. Within the proposed changes to Art. 61a of the Act of 25 June 1999 on cash benefits from social insurance in the event of sickness and maternity (Journal of Laws 1999, 60.636, as amended), the Ministry, not taking into account the requirement to ensure the existence of constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms, consciously shapes the law positive for full-range surveillance of every person covered by the interest of ZUS. In such circumstances, after adopting the amendments by the Polish Parliament (Sejm), ZUS will be included in the group of law enforcement authorities, as the scope of powers and possibilities its officials in the field have of obtaining information will be unlimited.