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Regulation of l obbying in Poland

dr Grzegorz Makowski, The Institute of Public Affairs Prague , Czech Rep. , 9 - 10 December 2010 . Regulation of l obbying in Poland. Lobbying in Poland. C haracteristics of E xisting L egislation ( 1 ).

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Regulation of l obbying in Poland

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  1. dr Grzegorz Makowski, The Institute of Public Affairs Prague, Czech Rep., 9-10December2010 Regulation of lobbying in Poland

  2. Lobbying in Poland. Characteristics of ExistingLegislation (1) • Law on the Lobbying Activity in the Legislative Process (Journal of Law No. 169 of 2005 item 1414) • The Structure: • General provisions • Principles of disclosure of lobbying activity in the legislative process • The registry of entities performing professional lobbying activity, and the rules of performing professional lobbying • Supervision over professional lobbying • Penalties for violation of provisions of the Act • 3 secondary acts • The Subjects: central government authorities, the Lower Chamber of Parliament, the lobbyists.

  3. Lobbying in Poland. Characteristics of ExistingLegislation (2) • GENERAL PROVISIONS • Regular lobbying: any activity conducted by legally allowed means, which leads towards the exertion of influence upon the organs of public authorities in the lawmaking process • Professional lobbying: gainful lobbying activity conducted on behalf of third parties in order to arrive at the interests of such third parties being taken into account in the lawmaking process

  4. Lobbying in Poland. Characteristics of ExistingLegislation (3) • PRINCIPLES OF DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITY IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS • Obligation to the ministries and the government to prepare legislative plans. • Provisions concerning public hearing institution (at the governmental and parliamentary level)

  5. Lobbying in Poland. Characteristics of ExistingLegislation (4) • THE REGISTRY OF ENTITIES PERFORMING PROFESSIONAL LOBBYING ACTIVITY, AND THE RULES OF PERFORMING PROFESSIONAL LOBBYING • Main registry is run by the Ministry of Interior and Administration • Separate registires in Sejm and Senate

  6. Lobbying in Poland. Characteristics of ExistingLegislation (5) • CONTROL OVER PROFESSIONAL LOBBYING • The ministries are obliged to prepare annual information on actions taken by professional lobbyists. • No reporting obligations for professional lobbyists

  7. Lobbying in Poland. Characteristics of ExistingLegislation (5) • PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF PROVISIONS OF THE ACT • Professional lobbyists conducting their activity may be fined with amount between approx. from 800 to 10 000 EUR

  8. Disadvantages of Polish Lobbying Legislation • Main disadvantages: • The scope of the Law- inadequate to the nature of the phenomenon. • The definitions of lobbying – too broad and imprecise. • Mixing up lobbying instrumentswith institutions of citizen control over public institutions, and mechanisms of participatory democracy. • Showy nature of the rules guaranteeing a fair and lawful lobbying . • The apparent incompatibility of some provisions of the Law with the Constitution of Poland.

  9. Lobbying in Poland. The Law inPractice. • Number of professional lobbyists in Poland: unknown • Number of associations of professional lobbyists: 1 • Number of professional lobbyists registered in the mainregistry: 165 (May 2010) • The number of registered lobbyists in the parliament: 13 (2010) • Intensity of lobbyist contacts with the ministries: 5 (according to the official report 2006) • Attendance of lobbyists to public hearings: 14 hearings and 0 professional lobbyists among participants(May 2010)

  10. Polish lesson. What to Do When Regulating Lobbying • MINIMUM CONDITIONS FOR GOOD REGULATION OF LOBBYING • Precisedeffinition • Registry of professionallobbyists • Reporting obligations for both professionallobbyists and institutions

  11. Polish lesson. What Not to Do When Regulating Lobbying Identify the needs. Do not proceed with legislation in an atmosphere of a scandal. Do not overregulate. Carefully consider the regulation of lobbying in the context of the universal rights of citizens to participate in decision-making processes. ‘Spellcasting by law’ does not pay. It is better to ensure transparent legislative procedures (in particular the conduct of public consultation and preparation of regulatory impact assessments), than to create a specific lobbying law. Don’t follow Polish exmaple 

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