IDM wants to create a capital market court

Vice-president of the court of the Chamber of Brokerage Houses prof. Andrzej Szumański believes that such an institution should start acting in Poland as soon as possible, similar to other Western European countries. His project already has the support of the Ministry of Justice, so implementing it seems to be a matter of time. The Capital Market Court would be the first specialist court in Poland.

Similar courts operate in many countries. They are in England, Germany or Israel. They deal with all matters relating to the capital market. Why are they created?

“They are needed because capital market laws are so hermetic, so complex, that the average judge, who is even a good civilian, cannot rule well on these specific cases. You need to "feel" the capital market, and this is not taught at law universities " - explains prof. Andrzej Szumański, vice president of the court of the Chamber of Brokerage Houses, who came out with this project.

It is hard to disagree with him. A judge prepared substantially also from the capital markets is a guarantee not only of a fair judgment, but also an acceleration of the settlement of cases, which in Poland is one of the greatest ills of the justice system. We have been waiting for judgments in some of them for over a dozen years and there are no views of an imminent ending.

What will the Capital Market Court deal with?

The new general court would deal mainly with appeals against the resolutions of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), civil law disputes between participants of the capital market, but also criminal cases regarding broadly-defined capital trading.

It will be a different, more comprehensive solution than the Stock Exchange Court operating at the Warsaw Stock Exchange. At the Warsaw Stock Exchange, as in the case of the Financial Supervision Authority, an arbitration court operates, which acts as a de facto mediation role. The new court is to be universal, issuing binding sentences on behalf of the Republic.

“The capital market supports the country's economic development. For this to be possible, it is necessary to trust investors who transfer money to the most dynamically developing enterprises. To build this trust, a number of factors must be met, including good regulations, good supervisor and effective enforcement of the law. " - says Waldemar Markiewicz, president of the Chamber of Brokerage Houses for the bankier.pl portal.

Small investors are to be protected

The court would also be a weapon in the fight of small investors, who often for years can not wait for justice in disputes with large and rich companies. A specialist court would not be able to manipulate, would not need experts for every activity, and the process would be shorter.

Another thing is the uniformity of the case law, which is missing in Poland. Admittedly, judgments of Polish courts do not constitute precedents and grounds for similar decisions in the future, but a large discrepancy in settling similar disputes brings nothing good and introduces a greater legal confusion.

The Ministry of Justice supports specialized courts

For now, the originators have the informal support of the Ministry of Justice, but everything is well on its way to accelerate the work. The Ministry - like the Chamber of Brokerage Houses - wants it to be a government project, not a civic project. This significantly shortens the legislative path and allows for a more efficient implementation of the idea.

Especially that over time, disputes are becoming more difficult legally, which further extends the time of their settlement. They are also more expensive, which again gives an advantage to large companies in the face of single investors.

“I remember the beginning of the transformation when we had the first law on public trading in securities. Everything was simple then. Later, when we joined the EU, there was a need to implement the directives and comply with the regulations. Laws keep swelling. If we want to competently adjudicate on someone's money and take responsibility for it, we must appoint a capital market court. " - ends prof. Andrzej Szumański.