Critical Areas of Services and Supplies — the Legal Mechanisms for the Special Control of their Functioning

Abstract

The article concentrates on the issue of legal mechanisms to control some areas with a huge impact on national security. In other words we could call this ‘protection’ or ‘limitation’ of free movement of goods or services. Some type of this control is the only opportunity to maintain influence in a crisis or in critical situations in respect of citizens and their daily life. It covers specific people and capital in different types of economic activities but mainly such services and supplies as energy, fuel, communication, telecommunication networks, food and water supply, transportation or production, storage and use of chemical and radioactive substances. Even in countries which are entirely open to foreign investors, ceding control over strategic areas or companies, or firms that are the most competitive in the world, is not welcome. This is because they could block or restrict the autonomy to make strategic political or economic decisions. The analysis concentrates on legal aspects of this limitation and is based on three Acts: the Act of 2010, 18th of March on special powers of the Ministry of State Treasury and their execution in certain capital companies or capital groups operating in the sectors of electricity, oil and gas, the Act of 2010, 29th of October on strategic reserves and the Act of 2015, 24th of July on the control of certain investments. Of course these regulations, even with acknowledging their significance, cannot provide a total guarantee of security. The other issue is that these solutions for protection, prediction of threats and their elimination, and finally, a demand to maintain backup systems, are so general that they can be interpreted differently.