Klich Aleksandra
Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Szczecin, 70-240 Szczecin, Poland.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jan 14;18(2):685. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18020685.
The situation associated with the growing number of Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections forced ongoing monitoring of the epidemic situation, which entailed an introduction of a number of restrictions and solutions intended to isolate the infected persons on the one hand, and to minimize the risk of development of an epidemic in Poland on the other. Activity of the Polish legislator is also essential, which tried to introduce solutions that would correspond with current expectations and needs. Given the multiplicity of the introduced regulations, interpretation of provisions of statutes has not always been easy. In this paper, the author points to the issues of communication with a public authority by specific reflections on the principles of serving documents on beneficiaries of EU programs under which they were awarded funding for their implementation on the basis of EU regulations addressing the use of the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund for programs implemented as part of the cohesion policy (Regulations of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) of 17 December 2013: no. 1303/2013, no. 1301/2013, no. 1304/2013, no 1300/2013, and no. 1299/2013). The author focuses on the issues of communication with an authority in a situation where administrative proceedings are initiated against a beneficiary of EU funds, e.g., for returning the granted funding. The author points to the dynamics of the legislator's work in this respect by analyzing the rules for serving documents by a public authority on beneficiaries who are public entities and those who are not. The author's main research aim is to analyze existing provisions establishing the possibility of electronic communication with a public authority, and also to assess them critically due to the extraordinary situation caused by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). This is intended to verify the main research hypothesis focusing on the attempt to answer a question whether existing regulations, and those created at the time of the epidemic threat and the state of epidemic in Poland facilitate citizens' electronic communication with a public authority. The author aims to answer a question about whether the Polish legislator responds appropriately to the numerous emerging challenges associated with the pandemic and whether it created regulations that effectively ensure the possibility of continuity of contact with a public authority for citizens who are the beneficiaries of public funds. This analysis may contribute to the understanding of whether and how it is possible to improve citizens' contact with public authorities, which in the future may eliminate barriers and obstacles arising in this regard. The author bases her reflections on the experience resulting from providing legal services for one of the Polish Managing Authorities of the Regional Operational Programme using at the same time a number of research methods (i.e., the method of interpretation of applicable laws to establish applicable provisions of the law that regulate admissibility of electronic communication with a public authority and to establish efficiency of such communication, the analytical method, applied in reference to the relevant state of the art in the achievements of legal scholarship, and the empirical method, based on observation and analysis of practical issues resulting from the author's cooperation with a Polish managing authority). In her conclusions, the author points to the lack of introduction of comprehensive regulations (also at the EU level-for all EU Member States) in terms of de-formalizing the principles of communication in the course of pending administrative proceedings. The author notices an absence of unambiguous regulations that allow for a scanned document signed by hand and sent my email to be qualified into the category of documents served by electronic means, through use of means of electronic communication. The author assesses this absence negatively due to the fact that such action seems the simplest in a situation caused by COVID-19.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）感染病例数量不断增加的形势，迫使人们持续监测疫情，这就需要采取一系列限制措施和解决办法，一方面将感染者隔离，另一方面尽量降低波兰境内疫情蔓延的风险。波兰立法者的行动也至关重要，其试图出台符合当前期望和需求的解决办法。鉴于所出台法规繁多，对法规条款的解释并非总是易事。本文作者通过具体思考就欧盟项目受益人送达文件的原则，指出与公共当局沟通的问题，这些项目依据欧盟关于使用欧洲区域发展基金、欧洲社会基金和凝聚基金实施凝聚政策项目的法规（欧洲议会和理事会2013年12月17日（欧盟）法规：第1303/2013号、第1301/2013号、第1304/2013号、第1300/2013号和第1299/2013号）获得资金以实施项目。作者关注在针对欧盟资金受益人发起行政程序（如要求返还已发放资金）的情况下与当局沟通的问题。作者通过分析公共当局向公共实体受益人和非公共实体受益人送达文件的规则，指出立法者在这方面工作的动态变化。作者的主要研究目的是分析现有规定中确立与公共当局进行电子通信可能性的条款，并鉴于2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）引发的特殊情况对其进行批判性评估。这旨在验证主要研究假设，即试图回答现有法规以及在波兰疫情威胁和疫情状态期间制定的法规是否便利公民与公共当局进行电子通信这一问题。作者旨在回答波兰立法者是否恰当地应对了与疫情相关的众多新挑战，以及是否制定了有效确保作为公共资金受益人的公民与公共当局保持联系可能性的法规这一问题。这种分析可能有助于理解是否以及如何能够改善公民与公共当局的联系，这在未来可能消除这方面出现的障碍。作者基于为波兰区域运营计划的一个管理当局提供法律服务所获得的经验进行思考，同时运用了多种研究方法（即解释适用法律以确定规范与公共当局进行电子通信可接受性的适用法律条款并确定此类通信的效率的方法、参考法律学术成果中的相关现有技术应用的分析方法以及基于对作者与波兰一个管理当局合作产生的实际问题进行观察和分析的实证方法）。在结论中，作者指出在未决行政程序中沟通原则去形式化方面缺乏全面法规（在欧盟层面也是如此——适用于所有欧盟成员国）。作者注意到缺乏明确规定，即允许通过电子通信手段将手写签名并通过电子邮件发送的扫描文件归类为以电子方式送达文件的类别。作者对此种缺失给予负面评价，因为在COVID-19引发的情况下，这种做法似乎是最简单的。
