Last Sunday, dr Piotr Marciniak explained to politicians, local government officials, and entrepreneurs the principles of building Public-law Chambers of Commerce in Poland. The presentation and behind-the-scenes discussions took place as part of the NOWA Polska Program Convention, on October 26, 2025, at the World Trade Center in Poznań.
# Draft summary of the speach #
17 years ago, Professor Wykrętowicz from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań introduced the Senate of the Republic of Poland to the discussion on the establishment of public-law chambers of commerce in Poland. Why it was important?
Despite the political transformation initiated in 1989, when the local government and a group of professional chambers were established, no public-law chambers of commerce dedicated to all entrepreneurs have been established. Consequently, the largest and most important professional group for the economy has not been granted institutional, effective representation.
What is a public-law chamber of commerce? Briefly speaking, it is a public-law non-governmental institution established by act, to which all entrepreneurs belong by operation of law. It primarily carries out three groups of tasks:
· It represents all entrepreneurs in dialogue with public institutions.
· It provides support and a range of services for businesses.
· It is an entity responsible for the decentralization of public economic tasks (both authoritative and non-authoritative).
Although there are currently over 1,000 private-law business organizations operating in Poland, they collectively represent less than 2% of entrepreneurs. Two-thirds of them have fewer than 100 members. As a result, their operational capacity is very limited.
Undoubtedly, the voice of business – particularly small and micro-enterprises – in dialogue with public institutions has had very limited agency for 36 years. It significantly outshines the lobbying effectiveness of large enterprises and international corporations. Meanwhile, cooperation between the state and Polish businesses is crucial in this rapidly changing economic and social environment. It provides a source of current knowledge, but also a means of effectively planning and implementing economic policy. When we talk about decentralization, public-law chambers of commerce are a key element in answering the question of how to realistically design and implement these processes. At the same time, following the example of local government, it must have a clearly defined catalog of public law tasks and the related principles of financing them from a portion of corporate sector taxes. It is also necessary to secure its effective position vis-à-vis public institutions. Decentralization is the foundation of every local government reform.
Do we need competent, representative, and effective public-law chambers of commerce? Unquestionably, yes. It should operate within a modern, expert, sectoral model.
