Understanding "conflict of interest" in post-communist Poland

The paper deals with the interpretation of the concept of conflict of interest by politicians and top state officials in Poland. It proposes a definition of the term "conflict of interest" and describes the history of related Polish legislation. Then it presents the famous 2002 case of a politically connected film producer trying to secure a bribe from a leading Warsaw daily in return for a favourable clauses in the then pending electronic media legislation. The analytical part of the paper reconstructs, on the basis of testimonies presented before a Parliamentary Investigating Commission, the "unorthodox" interpretations of conflict of interests. It shows that some politicians and officials do not understand this idea, while others interpret it depending on their particular interests. Many think that, due to the economic and social needs and due to the deficiencies of the political system, the cases of violating ethical norms should be treated with tolerance. Those failures to notice the issue of the conflict of interest show that they ignore the basis of the legitimisation of the liberal democratic state.