From 1948, Poland was joined by the Polish United Workers` Party (PUWP; Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza), the country`s Communist Party, inspired by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The postwar government was run as a dual system in which state organs were controlled by parallel organs of the PUWP. The executive branch was thus de facto the PUWP, with the party`s first secretary acting as the de facto head of state and most powerful authority. The party`s Politburo functioned as the central administration, and the party ensured its control over all positions and appointments through the nomenklatura, a list of politically reliable persons. In January, an October 2020 ruling by the Constitutional Court came into force, effectively banning access to legal abortion. Women`s rights groups Abortion Without Borders, Abortion Dream Team, and the Federation for Women and Family Planning reported a significant increase in the number of women and girls they sought help accessing abortion and other sexual and reproductive health interventions in the year following the decision. Restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic continued to make cross-border travel for access to abortion particularly difficult and costly. Corruption is illegal. It is a criminal offence for UK nationals or any person ordinarily resident in the UK to bribe a registered body or partnership registered in the UK anywhere in the world. In addition, a commercial organisation operating in the United Kingdom may be held liable for the conduct of a person who is neither a citizen of the United Kingdom nor a resident of the United Kingdom, or of an organization incorporated or incorporated in the United Kingdom. In this case, it does not matter whether the acts or omissions forming part of the offence take place in the United Kingdom or elsewhere. Before the 1997 parliamentary elections, the fragmented political right united under the banner of the electoral action Solidarity (Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność; AWS), which was later reorganized as the Right Solidarity Electoral Action (AWSP).
In the following decade, the other main political parties were the SLD, the PSL, the Left Labour Union (Unia Pracy; UP), the Liberal Democratic Union for Freedom (Unia Wolności; UW) and the centre-right Law and Justice Party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość; PiS) and Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska; (OP) Parties. Poland grants universal suffrage at the age of 18. The President appoints the Prime Minister and, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, subject to the approval of the Sejm, but the President cannot dismiss the Government. Deputies to the Sejm and Senators are elected by the people for four years. Laws must be passed by both houses. The Senate has the right to amend or reject a law passed by the Sejm. The Sejm may annul the decision of the Senate by a majority vote. The Sejm appoints the members of the Constitutional Court, the Commissioner for the Protection of Citizens` Rights (the Ombudsman), the President of the Supreme Chamber of Control (the State Audit Commission) and the Governor of the Bank of Poland. The main executive power belongs to the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, who are responsible to the Sejm. The government can only be removed by the Diet by a constructive vote of no confidence. The Prime Minister has a role comparable to that of a Chancellor in the German political system. Poland complies with all EU copyright and intellectual property laws, and local branches of international supervisory authorities monitor possible infringements, including downloading illegal software, which mainly affect the music and film industries.
Nevertheless, intellectual property “piracy” remains an important problem that the Polish government needs to address. Poland has not signed the agreement on a unified patent court. Links to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for general information on the political environment in the country. Poland currently ranks 40th globally in the World Bank`s ease of doing business ranking, up from 33rd in 2018. In April 2018, the Polish government introduced a “company constitution”, a legislative package aimed at improving the business environment, including exemptions for start-ups and micro-enterprises from registration and social security contributions. In addition, from 30 June 2018, Poland granted itself the status of a special economic zone with preferential tax rates for 15 years for companies, depending on the size of the investment and its location.