Page 149 - Секретаријат за законодавство

ly the institutional provisions, control-related provisions and provisions
on sanctions. The material requirements were no longer necessary as they
applied directly by virtue of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91. The entry into
force of that law was set on the day of accession of Poland to the EU.

It is worthwhile to point out a dilemma that Polish legislators are often
confronted with in the process of implementation of EU regulations. EU
regulations usually contain deÞnitions. Sometimes those deÞnitions do
not correspond to the legal tradition of the Member State concerned. On
the one hand, it should be born in mind that provisions of EU regulations
should be applied as they are, with no clariÞcation or interpretation in the
domestic provisions. However, on the other hand, absence of any action
on the part of national legislators in case of unclear deÞnitions might
lead to inconsistencies in applying the regulation by various authorities
or operators. Therefore, legislators in Poland have recourse to provisions
which are designed to establish deÞnitions equivalent to those used in the
EU regulation. It is a delicate exercise as it must ensure integrity of the
EU regulation and the legal security. The effect of the equivalent deÞni-
tion must be limited solely to the scope of application of the domestic act
and must not encroach upon the binding character of the UE regulation.

The Law of 20 April 2004 on organic farming contains an example of
this practice. Article 2 thereof provides that the term “producer” used
in that law shall be read as “operator” within the meaning of Regu-
lation (EEC) No 2092/91. It has been considered that the use of the
equivalent term in the scope of application of that law does not run
the risk of erroneous application of the regulation. On the contrary,
it helps avoid the lack of clarity related to the application of the term
“operator” in the context of the Polish legislation.

Transposition of directives

In Poland, there is no speciÞc legal basis devoted solely to the imple-
mentation of EU law. Therefore, the process of implementation has to
abide by the relatively rigid system of sources of law established in the
constitution. The constitution vests legislative power in the Parliament
and only the Parliament can pass laws. The constitution grants a special
role to laws in the system of sources of law as regards the determina-
tion of the legal position of the citizens. Neither the president nor the

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