Commission Report (2002): Poland

anti-corruption measures

The 2001 report highlighted the need to alter perceptions and the key role which a coherent strategy would play in this process. Such a strategy was adopted in September 2002. While there has been a steady implementation of previous measures, there have been no developments in terms of adopted legislation.

In terms of administrative capacity, the main development has been the establishment of the General Inspectorate of Financial Information (GIFI). This horizontal structure is in charge of collecting, processing and exchanging information received from financial entities on financial transactions with a view to curbing money-laundering. At this initial stage in its development the GIFI requires additional staff, IT equipment and software to digest and analyse systematically the flow of information it receives on financial transactions. To reflect this, the law has been amended to revise the date by which entities have to register and submit to the GIFI information on all cash transactions above EUR 10 000 from 15 March 2002 to 30 June 2004 (see Chapter 24 -- co-operation in the field of justice and home affairs).

The impact of the new Law on public information, mentioned in the 2001 Regular Report, has been positive in that it has set out in clear and more comprehensible terms the rights to access which exist. The legislation provides for the first time a clear statutory basis for existing practices and procedures and protects the current level of access, albeit without greatly increasing it.

The concept of criminal liability of legal persons remains to be introduced into Polish legislation.

Elsewhere further efforts are required to step up the fight against corruption both by the police and the border guard service, which remain important areas of concern. Recent data suggest that in 2001 there was a marked increase in the number of cases detected: up to 2384, compared to 1899 in 2000. Convictions also increased, rising from 580 in 2000 to 652 in 2001.

In September 2002, Poland ratified the Council of Europe Civil Law Convention on corruption. Poland has ratified the 1990 Council of Europe Convention on Money Laundering and has signed the 1999 Criminal Law Convention on corruption. Poland has continued to participate in the monitoring of anti-corruption measures effected by the OECD working group on bribery in international commercial transactions and is involved in the Council of Europe Group of states against corruption (GRECO) and in the Task Force Group on the fight against organised crime in the Baltic region.

As a member of GRECO, Poland received a GRECO evaluation mission in spring 2001. According to the evaluation report that was adopted and made public in March 2002, corruption phenomenon in Poland threatens to undermine the functioning of many public spheres. The GRECO report confirmed that the Polish authorities are fully aware of the danger that corruption represents for the further development of the country and that they have adopted a variety of measures. It was added that there were still a large number of measures which could be taken and implemented to put in place a comprehensive approach to this problem. In particular, the report called for the development of a clear and comprehensive Government programme against corruption, for some amendments to the legislation to provide the law-enforcement and judicial authorities with the full range of legal tools for combating corruption, for additional training in anti-corruption issues for several categories of officials, and for the strengthening of the role and functions of the Supreme Chamber. In conclusion, GRECO addressed seventeen specific recommendations to Poland which it is strongly encouraged to follow up.

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