The Risk of Destabilising Pension Fund Bodies, and the Procedural Position of Candidates for Members of the Governing Bodies of Supervised Entities

The author analyses the position of a candidate for member of a governing body in an entity supervised by the Polish Financial Supervisory Authority (PFSA) and discusses the related problems. The aim of the article is to identify the area of an increased risk level in financial institutions in the process of appointing members of the governing bodies of supervised entities. The PFSA assumes that the selection of the candidates for members of the governing bodies in Pension Fund Companies may be carried out by either the management board or the supervisory board. This leaves a large space for the activity of the boards. The management board can gain influence over the course of these proceedings. When the selection is conducted by the supervisory board, the risk is significantly reduced. The second aspect addressed therein concerns the position of a candidate for member of the governing bodies in supervised entities in legal proceedings. In jurisprudence it has been established that a candidate is to be treated as a party to the proceedings. The administrative courts found that inadmissibility of a candidate as a party would violate Article 77(2) of the Constitution by closing the judicial path for the candidate and preventing them from asserting protection of their rights and freedoms. Despite this, the Act of 21 July 2006 on Financial Market Supervision (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 2059, as amended) was amended in April 2021 to the effect that a candidate was not a party to the proceedings thus enhancing the risks, including conflicts of interest. The effect of these provisions has been instrumentalisation of those to whom a great deal of responsibility is entrusted – if the approval of the PFSA is obtained. The PFSA's decisions may affect the career path of candidates. In certain cases, they may even 'block' it, leaving little room for defence and narrowing the possibilities of adjusting the competence level to the positions held. There is also no timeframe for the PFSA’s decision. The risks associated with such situation have been described in the article.