Regulation of Consumer Credit in Polish Law

The purpose of the paper is to present the most important Polish regulations concerning consumer credits. They are contained in the Act on Consumer Credit which was adopted on 20th July 2001. Its aim was to approximate Polish law with the EU requirements predicted in the Council Directive 87/102/EEC of 22 December 1986 on consumer credit. As a result the Polish legislator regulates the most important aspects of such credit agreements. First of all, the credit agreement is defined. This definition is quite wide – “credit agreement means an agreement whereby a creditor grants or promises to grant to a consumer a credit in any form”. However, it is narrowed by the list of exceptions which are discussed in the paper. Secondly, the form and content of credit agreements are regulated (with special care of the questions of total credit costs and real annual percentage rate). Thirdly, consumers are protected in relation to bills of exchange and cheques and also in the case of the assignment of the creditors rights under a credit agreement to a third person. Fourthly, the Act predicts consumer rights to discharge his obligations under a credit agreement before the time fixed by it and to withdraw from the agreement. Finally, the provisions of the Act are binding on the creditor and he cannot exclude or limit consumer rights in the agreement. One the whole it can be said that Polish consumers are quite well protected against the unfair practices of different creditors. Now, everything depends on their readiness to use their rights as creditors can try to diminish the role of the provisions of the Act.consumer credit, credit agreement, total costs of the credit, real annual percentage rate, consumer rights to withdraw from the agreement and to discharge his obligations under a credit agreement before the time fixed by it

An Approach to the Acquisition of Expert Knowledge

This article presents the approach to the acquisition of expert knowledge and includes the following stages: (1) observation-verbal reporting, (2) obtainment of a record of the observation, (3) protocol analysis, (4) formal record of expert knowledge. The first part of the article discusses each element of our approach based on a real-time case study. Next, the structure and exemplar functionalities of the proposed information system for the acquisition of expert knowledge are presented. Our information system supporting the acquisition of expert knowledge, as presented here, is based on the example of service department workers but may be used in other areas where the procedures for performing any given activity are definable

An Approach to Tacit Knowledge Classification in a Manufacturing Company

This article attempts to classify the tacit knowledge acquired using the example of the research and development (R&D) department of a manufacturing company. Based on studies in the literature and direct interviews in the company analysed, the authors\u27 own model for classifying the tacit knowledge in an R&D department was proposed. The description of this model has been divided into two parts. In the first part, viz., the classification of knowledge, through three planes: (1) selection of algorithm inputs and the grouping of knowledge accumulated in an enterprise; (2) algorithm activity, that is, the use of algorithms based on clustering them, for calculations; (3) interpretation of results. The Bayesian Network was used for this purpose, which was modelled on the defined relationships between representing of tacit knowledge. Then, on the basis of the case study, the classification of knowledge was prepared according to: (1) definition of knowledge in the R&D department and its modelling, (2) implementation of a suitable number of training sets, (3) verification of the knowledge base, that is, declaration of the value of the knowledge observed, followed by (4) assignment of the probability of returning to the node of network clusters containing interpretations of business benefits

CAN LOCAL KNOWLEDGE WORKERS SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL LEVEL OF INNOVATION?

This paper systematically examines the role of knowledge workers on the level of innovation development in Poland. Specific hypotheses on the importance of the collaboration of knowledge workers for the growth of national innovation in two areas: knowledge creation and knowledge exploitation are examined. The study is based on a survey and interviews with 40 IT workers in small Polish businesses. The results show that cooperation between knowledge workers enables an improvement in the amount of human resources in science and technology and an increase in the number of high- and medium-tech Polish manufacturing enterprises. Specifically, the results confirm the hypothesis that the greater the amount of collaboration between knowledge workers, the higher the level of national innovation measured in these two indicators

Bezpośredni skutek ogólnej zasady niedyskryminacji w sporach dotyczących dziedzin objętych prawem Unii Europejskiej

The article concentrates on a fundamental issue related to the effect of the EU non-discrimination principle. The preliminary research assumption was that the main purpose of extending the scope of its effectiveness, which can be observed in the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice, is primarily the wish to protect victims of discrimination, and only then to eliminate the situation in which discriminating entities avoid responsibility in this respect. It is also worth considering the consequences of the concept adopted in the case-law, namely that the EU non-discrimination principle has both vertical and horizontal direct effects. As a result, the first part of the article presents the development of the jurisprudence concerning the direct effect of the non-discrimination principle. Then the groundbreaking ruling in the case of Cresco Investigation GmbH (C-193/17) is discussed in detail. Finally, the analysis covers the reasons, scope and possible effects of the approach according to which the EU non-discrimination principle can be invoked directly in national courtsalso in the context of disputes between private parties. The final conclusions indicate possible further development trends in terms of the direct effect of the EU non-discrimination principle.Artykuł koncentruje się na zasadniczej kwestii związanej ze skutkiem, jaki wywołuje unijna zasada niedyskryminacji. Za wstępne założenie badawcze uznano, że głównym celem rozszerzania zakresu jej skuteczności, z czym mamy do czynienia w orzecznictwie Trybunału Sprawiedliwości, jest przede wszystkim chęć ochrony ofiar dyskryminacji, a dopiero w następnej kolejności eliminacja sytuacji, w której podmioty dyskryminujące unikają odpowiedzialności z tego tytułu. Warto się ponadto zastanowić, jakie mogą być konsekwencje przyjętej w orzecznictwie koncepcji, iż tytułowa zasada wywołuje bezpośrednie skutki zarówno wertykalne, jak i horyzontalne. W rezultacie w pierwszej części artykułu przedstawiono rozwój orzecznictwa dotyczącego bezpośredniego skutku zasady niedyskryminacji. Następnie szczegółowo omówiono przełomowe w tym zakresie rozstrzygnięcie w sprawie Cresco Investigation GmbH (C-193/17). Wreszcie analizie poddano przyczyny, zakres oraz możliwe skutki podejścia, zgodnie z którym na unijną zasadę niedyskryminacji można się powołać wprost przed sądami krajowymi również w kontekście sporów między podmiotami prywatnymi. Natomiast we wnioskach końcowych wskazano ewentualne dalsze tendencje rozwojowe w zakresie bezpośredniej skuteczności unijnej zasady niedyskryminacji. &nbsp

Accessibility for persons with disabilities as an important element of economic and social development : the European Union case

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to present the issue of accessibility for persons with disabilities as an important element of sustainable development, taking into account the activities of the European Union (EU) in this area. Design/Methodology/Approach: The article is based on an approach according to which sustainable development focuses on the quality of life of a human being. The question arises how the EU refers to these problems in its internal and external policies. Therefore, after the analysis of the UN general documents on sustainable development and accessibility for persons with disabilities, the EU programmes, acts and concrete actions concerning these issues are presented and commented on. This legal analysis is supported by critical analysis of literature and available statistical data. Findings: Ensuring access to goods and services for persons with disabilities is vital for sustainable development as one of its main objectives is to improve the quality of life of all human beings. This issue is taken into account both in the UN and EU documents and is important for both economic and social sustainability. Practical implications: The results are of major importance to governments formulating their programmes on accessibility. They should consider the important role of accessibility within the scope of actions undertaken for social and economic development. Policy makers should also take into account the main challenges that ensuring access to goods and services for persons with disabilities poses in relation to architecture, transport, education, digitalisation, health, culture etc. Originality/value: The article is based on a critical analysis of documents and literature. As a result, it indicates strong and weak points in the implementation of accessibility goals in the frame of sustainable development policy. Moreover, the last part of the article presents solutions indispensable for ensuring access to goods and services for persons with disabilities, which may contribute to the development of good practices in this area.peer-reviewe

Proporcjonalność jako zasada wyznaczająca granice działania Wspólnoty Europejskiej

"Zasada proporcjonalności została rozwinięta w orzecznictwie Europejskiego Trybunału Sprawiedliwości (dalej: Trybunału) jako odpowiedź na potrzeby wspólnotowego porządku prawnego. W istocie nie było bowiem takiej normy wspólnotowej, która pozwoliłaby badać legalność działań legislacyjnych i administracyjnych instytucji Wspólnot. Należy przy tym zauważyć, że zakres zastosowania zasady proporcjonalności nie ogranicza się jedynie do środków podejmowanych przez instytucje wspólnotowe, ale służy również ocenie działań państw członkowskich w sytuacji, gdy ograniczają one podstawowe swobody rynku wewnętrznego. Ta ważna funkcja proporcjonalności pozostanie jednak poza obszarem niniejszego opracowania z uwagi na jego ograniczony zakres tematyczny."(...