Part II The Member State Reports on Transposition of the Directive, 14 Poland

This chapter analyses the transposition of the Antitrust Damages Directive in Poland. It first provides an overview of the transposition procedure, focusing on the main stages of the implementation process that culminated in the adoption of the Act on actions for damages for infringements of the competition law provisions (ACD) that came into force on 27 June 2017. The chapter goes on to describe the scope of ACD before considering the novel aspects of Polish implementation with respect to disclosure of evidence, time-barring deadlines, the standing of business and consumer organizations to bring actions, and the possibility of bringing group actions. It also examines problematic issues relating to the effect of National Competition Authorities’ final infringement decisions, passing-on of overcharges, presumption of harm, the competency of courts handling actions for antitrust damages, leniency programmes, and settlement submissions. Finally, it reflects on future prospects for private enforcement of competition law in Poland.