Public Registers and Databases

In Poland, seeking information on a debtor’s financial condition and asset position is a key step a creditor usually takes, even before initiating legal proceedings. This makes it possible to assess whether the debtor has sufficient means to satisfy the claim and whether enforcement of the debt will be effective. Consequently, it allows a decision to be taken as to whether the creditor must apply for security for the claims.

Public registers and databases, in particular, can be helpful for this purpose.

National Court Register (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy – KRS)

The KRS contains information on companies, foundations, associations and other legal entities in Poland, in particular those entered in the KRS Register of Entrepreneurs. The register provides, in particular, data on the ownership and capital structure, representatives and shareholders, restructuring, reorganisation and bankruptcy proceedings concerning the company.

Repository of Registry Files

The repository provides electronic access to the registration files of entities entered in the KRS Register of Entrepreneurs. It covers documents relating to companies filed from 1 July 2021. Viewing earlier documents is possible at the office of the registry court, which has jurisdiction over the company, where the paper registration files are kept.

Financial document viewer

Using the browser, it is possible to search for and download financial documents electronically filed by entities entered in the KRS Register of Entrepreneurs free of charge. The key documents are financial statements, including the balance sheet showing the company’s assets and liabilities and the profit and loss account. The browser also allows access to, among others, resolutions on the approval of financial statements, activity reports, resolutions on the distribution of profit or coverage of loss or auditors’ reports (if any).

Central Register and Information on Economic Activity (Centralna Ewidencja i Informacja o Działalności Gospodarczej)

The CEIDG contains information on natural persons conducting sole proprietorship. Among other things, it contains data on the registration of the company, its ownership, bankruptcy, restructuring and reorganisation proceedings concerning the entrepreneur.

Land and Mortgage Register

The LMR is a public register that contains information about the status of a property. It contains details of the location, area, and development of the property, as well as ownership, encumbrances (eg, easements and mortgages), and other claims against the property. This register can be accessed free of charge. However, the land register number of the property must be known in order to do so, which is not publicly available information.

Pledges Register

This register contains information on the encumbrance of movable and transferable property rights (eg, shares in a company, and patents) by a registered pledge, which is one form of security for a debt. It provides details of the pledgee, the pledgee and the pledged asset. Fees for information, copies and certificates issued from the register amount to PLN10–PLN20 (approximately EUR2–EUR5).

Registers kept by the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland (PPO)

The PPO keeps registers in which entries are made on granted patents, supplementary protection rights, protection rights and registered rights. The registers are public and they can be viewed online. Extract from the registers can be obtained for a fee.

Central Register of Actual Beneficiaries (Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych)

The CRBR contains data on the actual beneficiaries, ie, the natural persons who ultimately control the commercial companies, foundations or associations (including information on the size and type of shareholding or rights held by the beneficiary in question).

Public Procurement Bulletin

The Bulletin provides information on the public procurement contracts awarded to a given entity.

National Debtors Register

The register makes it possible to search for, among other things, information on insolvency proceedings, restructuring proceedings, enforcement proceedings and prohibitions on doing business. The register is public, and its contents can be accessed online.

Securing Claims and Freezing Orders

In practice, once the debtor’s assets have been established, creditors seek security for their claims already at the initial stage of the proceedings or even before they are initiated. When granting security, the court may, among others, issue a freezing order prohibiting the debtor from disposing of or encumbering their assets, order the seizure of specific components of the debtor’s assets, eg, bank accounts, receivables or establish a compulsory mortgage on real property. These types of actions are taken before the creditor obtains an enforcement order and do not entitle the creditor to use the seized assets.

Identification of the Debtor’s Assets at the Enforcement Stage

At the enforcement stage, the bailiff may ex officio, among other things, ascertain the debtor’s assets to the extent known to them from other proceedings in progress, on the basis of publicly available sources of information or registers to which they have electronic access, and summon the debtor to disclose their assets.

A creditor may demand that the debtor disclose their assets if the debtor’s assets seized in the enforcement proceedings do not promise to satisfy the enforced claims or if the creditor demonstrates that they have not obtained full satisfaction of their claim as a result of the enforcement proceedings, and in certain circumstances also before the enforcement proceedings were initiated. The debtor shall submit the list of assets under pain of criminal liability for making a false declaration.

Types of National Judgments

According to the Code of Civil Procedure, the three basic forms of judgments issued by Polish courts are judgments, payment orders and decisions.

Judgments

As a rule, the resolution of a trial takes place in a judgment. Polish legislation provides for:

• final judgments (upholding or dismissing the action, as the case may be, in whole or in part);
• partial judgments (issued only in respect of part of the claims made in the statement of claim, the remainder being decided at a later stage of the proceedings);
• preliminary judgments (prejudging the principle of liability itself, the question of the amount of the claim is decided later); and
• judgments by default (issued in principle when the defendant has failed to file a defence or to appear at the hearing).

Payment orders

Payment orders are decisions on the merits of the case – allowing the claim. They differ from a judgment mainly in the form of issuance – they are issued in a closed session and only if so provided for in the provisions of law, in certain types of proceedings (writ of payment, order for payment, European order for payment procedure and electronic order for payment procedure).

The nature and specific effects of payment order depend on the type of proceedings in which it was issued, eg, a payment order in proceedings by writ of payment is, as soon as it is issued, a security title, enforceable without an enforcement clause, whereas a payment order issued on the basis of a cheque becomes immediately enforceable upon the expiry of the time limit for satisfaction of the claim.

Decisions

The form of a decision is provided for under Polish law for substantive adjudication of cases under the non-litigious proceedings (appropriate, for example, for the determination of the acquisitive prescription of real estate), but also for decisions on issues related to the course of proceedings and in incidental matters.

In particular, by way of decisions, the courts settle on the costs of the main proceedings and on interim measures.

Declaratory and constitutive judgments

Judgments can also be divided into:

• declaratory – eg, awarding a specific amount to the claimant; and
• constitutive – eg, declaring the ineffective a legal act performed to the detriment of the creditor.

Legal Framework

In Poland, the process of enforcement of domestic judgments is primarily regulated by the Code of Civil Procedure, which provides rules for the enforcement of court judgments, and by the Act of 22 March 2018 on Bailiffs, which sets out the rights and duties of bailiffs with a key role in the enforcement process.

Enforcement proceedings

Enforcement proceedings in Poland are divided into two stages:

• clause proceedings before the court; and
• enforcement proceedings to carry out the enforcement.

In order to initiate enforcement, the creditor must obtain an enforcement title. As a rule, enforcement titles are final court judgments with an enforcement clause. In addition, in certain situations, other documents may also serve as a “substitute” for final court judgments for the purposes of enforcement. For example, a settlement concluded before a court or a notarial deed in which the debtor submits themselves to enforcement (this is a frequently used method of securing, eg, landlord’s claims for rent).

In the case of court judgments, an enforcement clause is issued by the court of first instance where the case was heard.

Once the clause has been obtained, the creditor attaches the enforcement title to the application to the bailiff, who proceeds with the actual enforcement process.

The actions of the bailiff may include, in particular, determining and seizure of the debtor’s assets (eg, bank accounts) or conducting an auction of the debtor’s movables and real property. On the first action, the bailiff serves the debtor with a notice of the enforcement proceedings, stating the contents of the enforcement title and the manner of enforcement, among other things.

Methods of enforcement of monetary and non-monetary benefits

Further steps depend on the type of judgment to be enforced and the nature of the debtor’s assets to be enforced.

The methods of enforcement of monetary benefits include, in particular:

• seizure and sale of movable and real property;
• seizure of remuneration for work;
• seizure of bank accounts;
• seizure and sale of other debts, including from overpayment or refund of tax; and
• seizure and satisfaction of a creditor from other property rights (eg, shares in a company, and industrial property rights).

The enforcement of non-monetary benefits consists in the coercive execution by the debtor of certain actions or the omission of certain actions (eg, the handing over of real property). Depending on the type of benefit, the bailiff has coercive measures at their disposal in the form of fines, direct coercion (in the case of non-replaceable benefits) or substitute enforcement (in the case of replaceable benefits).

Enforcement and bankruptcy proceedings

If an enforcement has been unsuccessful and has not resulted in the satisfaction of a creditor, the creditor may file a bankruptcy petition against the debtor. However, it is not possible to declare bankruptcy if the debtor has only one creditor (even if its claim is for a very large amount) – the debtor must have at least two creditors in order to declare bankruptcy. Declaring bankruptcy does not rule out the chances of recovering the debt. This is because a creditor may participate in the distribution of the funds of the bankruptcy estate. However, the very threat of the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings may often result in the voluntary settlement of claims.

The costs associated with the enforcement of a domestic judgment depend on a number of factors, primarily the benefit to be enforced and the actions to be taken by the bailiff.

Typical costs include the following.

• The enforcement fee charged by the bailiff for carrying out the enforcement (in the case of monetary benefits, this is generally between 5–10 % of the amount enforced; the maximum fee is PLN50,000 – approximately EUR11,000).
• Expenses incurred by the bailiff, such as the costs of correspondence, travel costs, the costs of expert opinions, if any (usually about several thousand PLN per opinion), translation costs, costs related to obtaining information by the bailiff or making announcements, costs of storage of seized movable property.
• Court costs, eg, fixed fees for applications filed in enforcement proceedings or for the possible filing of a complaint against the actions of a bailiff (amounting to PLN50 to PLN1,000 – approximately EUR10 to EUR230); the mere application for an enforcement clause of a court judgment is not subject to a fee.
• The costs of legal representation, if the creditor is assisted by a professional representative.

The costs of proceedings are, as a rule, borne by the debtor, but the creditor will, as a rule, be obliged to make an advance payment for the costs (at the beginning usually in the amount of approximately several hundred PLN, but this amount may increase in the course of the proceedings, depending on the actions taken by the bailiff).

Enforcement of a domestic judgment usually takes from a few weeks to even a few years.

The duration of the procedure depends primarily on the type of case and the benefit to be enforced. Many benefits are collected after the first enforcement action, mainly in the case of successful satisfaction of the creditor from a seized bank account.

In more complicated cases, such as those related to the auction of real property or the establishment of administration over the debtor’s business, the proceedings may be considerably longer. The duration of the proceedings may also be negatively affected by the debtor’s behaviour if they challenge the actions of the bailiff in court.

The post-judgment procedures available to identify a defendant’s assets are described in 1.1 Options to Identify Another Party’s Asset Position.

Ordinary Legal Remedies

Challenging the enforceability of a domestic judgment may take place through an appeal against the judgment of the court of first instance. If this ordinary appeal is lodged, the judgment does not become final and cannot, in principle, be enforced.

On the other hand, if an objection is lodged against a default judgment, the enforceability of that judgment is not automatically suspended or stayed. However, the order for immediate enforceability of a default judgment may be suspended in certain cases.

Exceptional Legal Remedies

Final judgments of the courts of second instance, which are subject to enforcement, can only be challenged by means of extraordinary remedies (ie, a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court and an application for the resumption of proceedings).

However, the use of such a measures is only possible under strict conditions and will not be possible in every situation (eg, a cassation appeal is, as a rule, inadmissible in property rights cases where the value of the subject of the appeal is lower than PLN50,000 – approximately EUR11,000).

Lodging a cassation complaint or an application for resumption does not automatically block the enforcement of the contested judgment. In such a situation, if irreparable damage may be caused to the applicant as a result of the enforcement, the applicant may nevertheless seek to suspend the enforcement.

Anti-enforcement Action

The Code of Civil Procedure provisions also provide a special legal remedy in the form of an anti-enforcement action, which is available to the debtor or a third party to protect their rights in enforcement proceedings. This type of lawsuit is filed with the court by a person who believes that the enforcement conducted against them is groundless or violates their rights.

The debtor may, by means of such an action, request that the enforcement title be rendered unenforceable in whole or in part or limited, in particular, if after the enforcement title was created, an event has occurred as a result of which the obligation has expired (eg, the amount due has been paid) or cannot be enforced.

Final and Appealable Judgments

According to Polish civil procedure, as a rule, judgments of first instance courts that are not final are not enforceable. This is because the parties have the right to lodge an appeal, which suspends the execution of the judgment. However, in certain situations, the court may decide otherwise and grant an immediate enforceability order to the judgment when it is issued.

Declaratory Judgments

Declaratory judgments are also not enforceable – due to their nature (lack of possibility of coercive enforcement in enforcement proceedings).

There is no central public register of all court judgments in Poland.

However, some judgments are published in online databases of judgments. There are also mechanisms for accessing judgments rendered in specific cases. In particular, access to judgments in an anonymised version, ensuring the protection of personal data or other sensitive information, is possible through access to public information.

General Principles

In order to enforce a foreign judgment in Poland, it is generally necessary to obtain its recognition or declaration of enforceability in Poland. As a result, a foreign judgment acquires the same status as a judgment of a domestic court.

The procedures, legal basis and degree of automaticity in the recognition and enforcement of these judgments differ. The differences are due in particular to whether we are dealing with a judgment issued by EU member state courts or courts outside the EU.

In particular, in light of the provisions of the Brussels I bis Regulation in force in Poland:

• covered judgments issued in EU member states are recognised in Poland without the need for a special procedure; and
• covered judgments issued in EU member states that are enforceable in the state of issue are also enforceable in Poland without the need for a declaration of enforceability.

Similar rules are provided for by the Lugano Convention, which is applicable to the recognition and enforcement of judgments rendered in Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland.

Priority of Application

The institution of recognition and declaration of enforceability of foreign judgments in Poland is subject to the regulations of EU as well as international civil procedural law. Both the regulations of EU law and bilateral and multilateral international treaties to which Poland is a party take precedence over the provisions of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure.

Relevant EU Legislation

In particular, the following EU regulations apply:

• Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 of 21 April 2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims;
• Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of 12 December 2006 creating a European order for payment procedure;
• Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 of 11 July 2007 establishing a European Small Claims Procedure; and
• Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Recast) (Brussels I bis).

The national procedural rules on the recognition and enforcement of certain judgments of EU member state courts, which supplement the provisions of the above-mentioned regulations, are additionally included in the Polish Code of Civil Procedure.

Relevant International Treaties and Conventions

Among the international agreements by which Poland is bound, the following can be mentioned:

• Lugano Convention of 30 October 2007 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters;
• Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements; and
• bilateral treaties (eg, agreements linking Poland with Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus).

Recognition and Declaration of Enforceability of Judgments

In Poland, a distinction is made between recognition and declaration of enforceability of foreign court judgments.

The recognition consists in granting legal force to foreign court judgments on the territory of Poland. A foreign judgment recognised in Poland is treated as a judgment of a Polish court. Recognition concerns those judgments which automatically produce effects or are declaratory in nature and, therefore, do not require enforcement. Such judgments include, for example, judgments declaring a sale agreement invalid and judgments dismissing actions (also for payment).

The declaration of enforceability concerns the judgments enforced by way of enforcement. Examples of such judgments are a judgment awarding an unpaid service or a judgment prohibiting the debtor from specific unfair competition acts.

Enforcement of Judgments Concerning Monetary and Non-monetary Benefits

As in the case of domestic judgments, in the case of foreign judgments the Polish procedure differentiates the possible methods of enforcement of judgments depending on whether they concern monetary or non-monetary benefits, and with regard to the enforcement of judgments concerning non-monetary benefits also on whether we are dealing with substitutable actions of the debtor or with non-substitutable actions (see 2.2 Enforcement of Domestic Judgments).

General Regulation of the Polish CCP

The provisions of the Polish CCP do not list specific categories of foreign judgments that will not be enforceable. They do, however, specify negative prerequisites, the fulfilment of which excludes the possibility of recognising or declaring the enforceability of a foreign judgment in Poland (see 3.6 Challenging Enforcement of Foreign Judgments). Each case is subject to individual examination to determine whether these prerequisites are met.

These rules apply to judgments rendered in civil matters (which also include commercial matters) and do not apply to administrative, criminal or tax judgments.

Judgments Given in Cases Coming Within the Exclusive Jurisdiction of the Polish Courts

Among these negative grounds is that the foreign judgment was made in a case falling within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Polish courts.

Since, under Polish law, exclusive domestic jurisdiction includes, among others:

• cases concerning rights in rem in real property and possession of real property situated in Poland;
• cases of dissolution of a legal person or an organisational unit that is not a legal person; and
• cases for revocation or declaration of invalidity of resolutions of their bodies, if the legal person or organisational unit which is not a legal person has its seat in Poland,

judgments rendered in the aforementioned cases will not be enforceable in Poland.

Judgments Made Under Conditions That Prevent the Proper Defence of Rights

Other negative grounds for recognition or declaration of enforceability of a foreign judgment include, among other things, that a party was prevented from defending themselves in the course of the proceedings. A situation in which a default judgment was issued and the defendant was not (actually) given the opportunity to defend their rights may, therefore, result in the foreign judgment not being recognised or declared enforceable in Poland.

Judgments Awarding Punitive Damages

An additional, very important negative premise is also the public policy clause. Based on this premise in particular, the Polish Supreme Court ruled out the possibility of declaring an American judgment awarding punitive damages to be enforceable in a significant amount. In doing so, it explained that the institution of punitive damages, which derives from foreign law, does not in itself constitute a measure contrary to the fundamental principles of the Polish legal order. However, the inconsistency of the effects arising from the application of that institution with the principles of the Polish legal order should be examined on a case-by-case basis.

Recognition of Foreign Judgments

Pursuant to the Polish CCP, judgments of foreign courts issued in civil cases are subject to recognition in Poland by virtue of the law unless there are obstacles as set out in the provisions of the CCP (see 3.6 Challenging Enforcement of Foreign Judgments).

Locus standi

An application to establish that a foreign judgment may (or may not) be recognised may be brought by anyone who has a legal interest in it. As a rule, these will be the persons affected by the judgment – the parties to the trial and other persons who participated in it as co-participants, main and side interveners, as well as their legal successors.

Formal requirements

An application for establishing that a foreign judgment is subject to recognition must be accompanied by:

• an official copy of the judgment;
• a document stating that the judgment has become final unless the finality of the judgment is apparent from its contents;
• if the judgment was given proceedings in which the defendant did not enter the litigation as to the merits, a document establishing that the document instituting the proceedings has been served on the defendant; and
• a certified translation into Polish of the above-mentioned documents.

An application for establishing that a judgment is not subject to recognition must be accompanied by:

• an official copy of the judgment and its certified translation into Polish.

Court jurisdiction and procedure

The application shall be heard by the regional court which would have territorial jurisdiction to hear the case decided by the foreign court or in whose region the district court has territorial jurisdiction, or in the absence thereof, by the Regional Court in Warsaw.

Once the formal requirements of the application have been checked, copies of the application are sent to the other parties to the proceedings, who, within two weeks of service of the application, may present their position on the case. As a rule, the other parties to the proceedings are those who participated in the foreign proceedings in which the judgment was issued.

The court may hear the application in closed session or public session, but may also schedule a hearing.

Means of appeal

The decision of the regional court may be appealed against and the judgment of the appellate court may be appealed in a cassation appeal. A request for resumption of proceedings and for determination of the unlawfulness of the final decision rendered is also not excluded.

Declaration of Enforceability

According to the Polish CCP, judgments of foreign courts in civil matters, which are enforceable by way of enforcement, become enforcement titles once they have been declared enforceable by a Polish court.

The declaration of enforceability shall be effected by making the judgment of the foreign court enforceable.

A condition for a declaration of enforceability is that the judgment is enforceable in the state of origin and that there are no obstacles as set out in the provisions of the CCP (see 3.6 Challenging Enforcement of Foreign Judgments).

Locus standi

The creditor has the legitimacy to file an application.

Formal requirements

An application must be accompanied by:

• an official copy of the judgment;
• a document stating that the judgment has become final unless the finality of the judgment is apparent from its contents;
• if the judgment was given proceedings in which the defendant did not enter the litigation as to the merits, a document establishing that the document instituting the proceedings has been served on the defendant;
• a document stating that the judgment is enforceable in the state of origin unless enforceability is derived from the content of the judgment or the law of that state; and
• a certified translation into Polish of the above-mentioned documents (with regard to the last of the above-mentioned documents, such a requirement does not derive directly from the procedural rules).

Court jurisdiction and procedure

The decision to grant an enforcement clause shall be taken by the regional court of the debtor’s place of residence or seat or, failing that, by the regional court in whose district enforcement is to be carried out.

The procedure is similar to that in cases of recognition of foreign judgments. Within two weeks of service of a copy of the application, the debtor may present their position on the case. The court may hear the application in closed session or public session, but may also schedule a hearing.

Means of appeals

The decision of the regional court may be appealed against and the decision of the appellate court may be appealed in a cassation appeal. A request for resumption of proceedings and for determination of the unlawfulness of the final decision rendered is also not excluded.

Enforcement: Security Title

Enforcement on the basis of a foreign judgment may, as a rule, be initiated after the decision on the granting of an enforcement clause has become final. Until the time limit for lodging a complaint against the decision of the regional court has expired and, if a complaint has been lodged until it has been examined by the appellate court, the decision shall constitute a security title.

The applications discussed are subject to a fixed court fee of PLN300 – approximately EUR70.

As a rule, in the Polish civil procedure the losing party reimburses the winning party for the necessary costs of the proceedings. Thus, if the application is granted, the applicant may recover these costs.

Additional costs in such a case will be the costs of legal representation, and stamp duty on a power of attorney in the amount of PLN17 – approximately EUR4 (if the applicant is represented by a professional representative), as well as necessary costs of translation of annexes to the application.

The duration of the proceedings depends on a number of circumstances. First of all, it depends on the complexity of the case and whether the other parties will actively participate in fighting the application. Whether the opposing parties decide to appeal also has a key impact on the prolongation of the proceedings. Due to the significant caseload of the Polish courts, the time limits for hearing appeals are also relatively distant and can be as long as 1–2 years or more. Consequently, the duration of the proceedings may take up to several years in total.

Grounds for Refusing to Recognise or Declare Enforceable a Foreign Judgment

The CCP contains the prerequisites for the refusal of recognition or declaration of enforceability of a foreign judgment by a Polish court.

A judgment is not subject to recognition or declaration of enforceability if:

• shall not have the force of res judicata in the state in which it was issued;
• was made in a case falling within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Polish courts;
• the defendant, who did not enter into the dispute as to the merits, was not duly served with the document instituting the proceedings in sufficient time to enable them to defend themselves;
• the party was deprived of the opportunity to defend itself during the proceedings;
• a case involving the same claim between the same parties is pending in Poland before a court of a foreign state;
• is contrary to an earlier final and binding judgment of a Polish court or an earlier final and binding judgment of a court of a foreign state which fulfils the conditions for its recognition in Poland, made in a case involving the same claim between the same parties; and
• recognition or declaration of enforceability would be contrary to the fundamental principles of the Polish legal order (public policy clause).

Public Policy Clause

The public policy clause plays a particularly strong role in Polish case law. It is of an exceptional nature and its broadening interpretation is not permissible. Within its scope, it encompasses the fundamental principles concerning the social and economic system arising from the Polish Constitution, as well as the main principles regulating individual areas of substantive and procedural law.

Therefore, a refusal to recognise or enforce a foreign judgment on this basis is not justified by its mere inconsistency with mandatory provisions of Polish law. Based on this general clause, it is also not possible for a Polish court to review the merits of a foreign judgment. The application of this clause requires an examination of the effects of the foreign judgment and whether they would be contrary to the fundamental principles of the Polish legal order. In practice, however, significant difficulties arise in determining where the boundary between the substantive examination of a judgment and the effects it produces is drawn.

The process of enforcing arbitral awards in Poland is governed by both domestic law and international agreements to which Poland is a party. The approach to the enforcement of arbitral awards differs, primarily depending on whether one is dealing with an arbitral award issued in Poland or abroad.

The Polish CCP contains a separate regulation on the recognition and declaration of the enforceability of arbitral awards issued in Poland and abroad, as well as – exclusively with regard to arbitral awards issued in Poland – a regulation on the possibility of setting aside an arbitral award.

The provisions of the CCP on the recognition and declaration of enforceability of arbitral awards give precedence to ratified international agreements, in particular the New York Convention of 10 June 1958 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”).

Poland signed the New York Convention with the two reservations set out in Article I(3) of the Convention, ie:

• with the reservation of reciprocity (ie, that it will apply the Convention to the recognition and enforcement of judgments given only in the territory of another Contracting State); and
• with the reservation that arbitral awards subject to recognition or enforcement under the Convention shall relate to commercial disputes within the meaning of Polish law.

Poland did not repeat the reservations when it ratified the Convention, but they are assumed to be in force. Thus, to the extent that they exclude the application of the Convention, the provisions of the Polish CCP apply.

The approach in Polish jurisdiction to the enforcement of arbitral awards is primarily based on the distinction between recognition and declaration of enforceability, which has already been discussed above in relation to foreign judgments.

In the case of an arbitral award, there is a need for a special procedure by the state court, as a result of which the award acquires the force of law equal to state court judgments. This occurs as a result of its recognition or declaration of enforceability by a state court.

As in the case of foreign court judgments, the declaration of enforceability of an arbitral award applies only to those arbitral awards which, due to their content, are enforceable by way of execution. In other cases, only the procedure for recognition of the arbitral award may be applied.

Arbitral awards are subject to the procedure for recognition or declaration of enforceability regardless of the country in which they were issued. The course of this procedure may differ depending on whether it concerns arbitral awards rendered in Poland or abroad.

In general, Poland is an arbitration-friendly country. This is also reflected in the persistently low percentage of cases in which recognition or declaration of enforceability of Polish or foreign arbitral awards has been refused or in which an action to set aside an arbitral award has been upheld. This kind of peculiar “scrutiny” of arbitral awards results in the lack of enforceability in Poland rather rarely, in exceptional circumstances.

Polish procedural rules do not define a separate category of arbitral awards that will not be enforceable. However, they specify negative prerequisites, the fulfilment of which precludes recognition or declaration of enforceability of an arbitral award issued in Poland. These prerequisites are similar in content to the prerequisites for refusal of recognition and enforcement of an award set out in Article V of the New York Convention.

Grounds for Refusing to Recognise or Declare Enforceable an Arbitral Award Under the Polish CCP

A Polish court shall refuse to recognise or declare enforceable an arbitral award, in particular, if:

• under the provisions of the law, the dispute cannot be submitted to arbitration; and
• recognition or enforcement of the arbitral award would be contrary to the fundamental principles of the Polish legal order (public policy clause).

Additionally, the court shall, at the request of a party, refuse to recognise or declare enforceable an arbitral award issued abroad if the party demonstrates that:

• there was no arbitration clause, the arbitration clause is null and void, ineffective or voidable under the law applicable to it;
• was not duly notified of the appointment of the arbitrator, of the arbitration proceedings or was otherwise deprived of the opportunity to defend their rights before the arbitration tribunal;
• the arbitral award concerns a dispute that is not covered by the arbitration clause or falls outside the scope of the arbitration clause;
• the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the proceedings before it were not in conformity with the agreement of the parties or, in the absence of an agreement to that effect, were not in conformity with the law of the state in which the arbitral tribunal proceedings were conducted; and
• the arbitral award has not yet become binding on the parties or has been set aside or its enforcement has been suspended by a court in or under the law of the state in which the award was rendered.

Recognition or Declaration of Enforceability of Arbitral Awards

According to the Polish CCP, arbitral awards have the same legal force as a judgment of a state court once they have been recognised by a state court or declared enforceable by that court.

Locus standi

An application for recognition or declaration of enforceability of an arbitral award may be made by a party to the arbitration proceedings.

Formal requirements

An application must be accompanied by:

• the original or a copy certified by the arbitral tribunal of its award;
• the original arbitration clause or an officially certified copy thereof; and
• certified translation into Polish of these documents (which are not in Polish).

Court jurisdiction and procedure

The application shall be heard by the appellate court on whose territory the court which would have had jurisdiction to hear the case if the parties had not made an arbitration clause is located, and in the absence of such grounds – by the Appellate Court in Warsaw.

The provisions on appeals shall apply accordingly to the proceedings.

Once the formal requirements of the application have been checked, copies of the application are sent to the other parties to the proceedings, who, within two weeks of service of the application, may present their position on the case. As a rule, the other parties to the proceedings are those who participated in the arbitration proceedings in which the award was made.

The examination of an application relating to an arbitral award rendered abroad shall take place after a hearing.

The court decides on the recognition of an arbitral award by way of a decision.

The court declares the enforceability of an arbitral award by issuing an enforcement clause. An arbitral award that has been declared enforceable is an enforcement title on the basis of which enforcement may be initiated and conducted.

Means of appeal

The decision of the court of appeal regarding an arbitral award issued in Poland may be appealed to another panel of that court.

A final court decision regarding a foreign arbitral award may be appealed in a cassation complaint. In this case actions for the resumption of proceedings and for a declaration that a judgment delivered is unlawful are also not excluded.

An application for recognition or declaration of enforceability of an arbitral award is subject to a fixed court fee of PLN300 – approximately EUR70.

Additional costs will be the costs of legal representation, and stamp duty on a power of attorney in the amount of PLN17 – approximately EUR4 (if the applicant is represented by a professional representative), as well as necessary costs of translation of annexes to the application.

The duration of proceedings can vary considerably depending on a number of factors. In practice, these proceedings usually last from several months to several years. The exact duration of the proceedings depends not only on the caseload of the court, but also on the complexity of the case and the approach of the opponent – whether they will use means of appeal, as well as (in the case of arbitral awards rendered in Poland) whether they will file an action to set aside the award. In the latter case, the court deciding on the recognition or declaration of enforceability may postpone the hearing of the case.

In simple cases, where all documents have been properly submitted with the application and the opposing party does not challenge the decision made, the proceedings can be concluded within a few months to a year. In more complex cases, especially where the opposing party challenges the decision made, the process can take from a year to even several years.

Challenging the enforceability of arbitral court judgments, both domestic and those issued abroad, is possible through the institution of recognition and declaration of enforceability previously discussed. In addition, with regard to arbitral court judgments issued in Poland, the CCP provides for their “review” through the institution of an action to set aside an arbitral award.

Action to Set Aside

An arbitral award rendered in Poland may be challenged a court only in proceedings initiated as a result of a complaint for its setting aside.

Grounds for a complaint

A party may request that an arbitral award be set aside if:

• there was no arbitration clause, the arbitration clause is be null and void, ineffective or voidable under the law applicable to it;
• a party was not duly notified of the appointment of the arbitrator, of the arbitral proceedings or was otherwise deprived of the opportunity to defend its rights before the arbitral tribunal;
• an arbitral award concerns a dispute not covered by the arbitration clause or exceeds the scope of such a clause;
• the requirements as to the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the basic rules of procedure of the arbitral tribunal arising from the law or laid down by the parties have not been complied with;
• the judgment was obtained by means of a criminal offence or the judgment was based on a forged or falsified document; and
• there has been a final court judgment in the same case between the same parties.

An arbitral award shall also be set aside in particular if the court finds that:

• according to the law, the dispute cannot be resolved by an arbitration tribunal; and
• the arbitral award is contrary to the fundamental principles of the Polish legal order of the (public policy clause).

Court jurisdiction and procedure

As a general rule, the provisions on appeals shall apply accordingly to the complaint proceedings.

The action shall be brought before the court of appeal in the territory of which the court which would have had jurisdiction to hear the case if the parties had not made an arbitration clause is located, or, in the absence of such grounds, before the Court of Appeal in Warsaw.

The time limit for bringing an action is generally two months from the date of service of the award.

Means of appeal

A court judgment in an action for setting aside may be appealed in a cassation complaint. In this case actions for the resumption of proceedings and for a declaration that a judgment delivered is unlawful are also not excluded.

Court fee

The fee for an action to set aside depends on the value of the subject matter of the dispute. If the value exceeds PLN20,000 (approximately EUR4,600), the fee amounts to 5% of this value, but not more than PLN200,000 (approximately EUR46,000).