The President of the Republic of Poland signed a bill amending the Code of Civil Procedure. When will the new regulations come into effect?

On July 24, 2019, the President of the Republic of Poland signed the Act of 4 July 2019 amending the Act – Code of Civil Procedure and certain other acts. The Act is now awaiting publication in Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy. The new regulations will enter into force gradually – in 4 stages.

1. The most important changes that will come into force 14 days after the announcement of the Act in Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy.

1. changes in the Act of 28 July 2005 on court costs in civil cases

We have already written about the scope of changes in this Act on May 16, 2019. It is worth reminding that the new regulations significantly increase court fees in cases where the value of the subject of the dispute exceeds PLN 2,000,000.00. The upper limit for the entry has been abolished – from PLN 100,000 to as much as PLN 500,000. In the case of proceedings initiated and not completed before the amendment enters into force, the new regulations will apply to letters and requests subject to a charge, made after the date of entry into force of this Act.

2. the principle will be the issuing of decisions by the Court at meetings,
3. the plaintiff will have to demonstrate the interruption of the limitation period of the claim in the application for granting the enforcement clause where the circumstances of the case and the content of the enforcement order indicate that the claim covered by the claim has expired,
4. the creditor will have to demonstrate the interruption of the limitation period of the claim in the application for enforcement when the content of the enforceable title shows that the claim covered by the enforceable title has expired,
5. if, after the enforcement title has been exercised, the right passed on to another person, that person may initiate enforcement against the debtor on the basis of this title, if he proves the transfer of authority with an official or private document with an officially certified signature – otherwise the authority refuses to initiate execution
6. the court will suspend the parties suspended upon the joint request of the parties or at the request of the heir, if the application to start the proceedings has not been filed within six months from the date of the decision to suspend the proceedings (the suspension has lasted for a year)

2. Most changes introduced by the Act will come into force after 3 months from its publication in Court and Commercial Gazette.

After this period, there will be, among other things, regulations regarding business cases, changes in court jurisdiction (beneficial for consumers in particular), the obligation to file a statement of defense, abolition of the obligation to file letters on the form in legal proceedings or delivery of court notices by bailiffs.

3. Six months after the announcement of the Act, changes in the Court and Commercial Gazette will include electronic notification proceedings.

After the amendments come into force, the payment order will not be issued when the plaintiff seeks a claim other than cash or delivery of the order to the defendant would take place outside the country. If there are no grounds for issuing the order for payment, the court will not refer the case to ordinary investigation but will discontinue the proceedings.

Additionally, if within three months from the date of issuing the decision to discontinue the electronic writ-of-payment proceedings, the plaintiff will file a claim against the defendant for the same claim in proceedings other than electronic writ-of-payment proceedings, the legal consequences that the law entails to bring an action shall take place on the day of filing the claim in electronic form writ-of-payment proceedings. At the parties’ request, the court, recognizing the case, will take into account the costs incurred by the parties in the electronic writ-of-payment proceedings.

4. After 12 months from the announcement of the Act, the Court and Commercial Gazette shall enter into force changes concerning the court’s instructions to the parties during the proceedings.