The Law on Lobbying in the Republic of Poland. Theory and Practice

Effective functioning of the lobbying phenomenon facilitates economic development for every country. However this form of political participation can weaken economic growth if it is not properly controlled. In order to do that the Polish Parliament passed the Law on lobbying. This act introduced new legal terms (lobbying activity, professional lobbying activity) and new institutions (the Polish Lobbying Register, the Legislative Work Programme, a public hearing). It turned out that this statute had been a total failure in practice. Although many entities entered into the Polish Lobbying Register, there were few professional lobbying activities exercised in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, the Ministries, the Sejm and the Senate between 2006 and 2010. Other new institutions were used rarely as well. The Law on lobbying hinders development of lobbying phenomenon in the Republic of Poland and should be changed immediately.