THE REGISTER OF SHAREHOLDERS UNDER THE POLISH LAW – SELECTED ISSUES

<ns3:p>The article explores key legal and practical aspects of the register of shareholders under Polish law, a system fundamentally reformed by the 2019 amendment to the Code of Commercial Companies and the mandatory dematerialization of shares effective from March 1, 2021. The study examines the legal nature and functions of the electronic regis-ter, which has replaced the traditional share ledger and is now maintained by authorized external entities. The register serves as the sole official record of share ownership, making entries constitutive for the acquisition of shareholder rights. The article analyzes the impli-cations of these changes for corporate governance, shareholder rights, and the transparency and security of share trading in non-public companies. Special attention is given to the procedural rules for making entries, the scope of information disclosed, and the principle of transparency, as well as the potential use of distributed ledger technologies such as blockchain. The article also discusses ongoing and planned legislative developments aimed at further modernizing the register, improving oversight, and addressing practical challeng-es. The analysis is based on the dogmatic and logical-linguistic methods, providing a com-prehensive overview of the current legal framework and its anticipated evolution.</ns3:p>