POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Dorothy Hansberry-Bieguńska, Sabina Famirska, Grzegorz Materna and Dorota Podsiedzik-Malec, Hansberry Tomkiel
• a violation of procedural rules if this defect could have had a significant impact on the outcome of the case.
A defendant in principle has the right to request a court to order a claimant to pay a deposit as security for costs of the proceedings. A deposit cannot exceed 20% of the value of the claim. 4.2 Opting In or Out As explained in 4.1 Statutory Basis , Poland uses an Both direct and indirect purchasers can pursue their claims through class actions. The Group Claims Act regulates civil judicial proceedings in cases in which claims of one type are asserted, based on the same or the same kind factual basis. 4.4 Class Certification For claims to be brought as group proceedings, there must be at least ten claimants and the claim must be based on the same factual basis. Pursuant to the 2024 amendment to the Group Claims Act, claims concern - ing protection of collective interests of consumers may also be based on the same legal basis. opt-in system for collective actions. 4.3 Direct/Indirect Purchasers Cases concerning pecuniary claims are allowed on the condition that the claimed value for each group member is unified, taking into consideration all com - mon circumstances of the case. Thus, the amount of a claim must be generally unified for each member of the group ‒ although the unification may be done in subgroups. A subgroup must consist of at least two persons. The above-mentioned restrictions do not apply to consumer claims. 5. Choice of Jurisdiction 5.1 Rules on Jurisdiction and Applicable Law The general rule is that a case falls within national jurisdiction if a defendant has a domicile or habitual residence or seat in Poland. Moreover, Polish jurisdic - tion applies if the case concerns: • an obligation arising from a legal action that has been performed or is to be performed in Poland; • an obligation resulting from tort that arose in Poland;
4. Class and Collective Actions 4.1 Statutory Basis
Infringements of the Competition Act are torts that can be pursued pursuant to the Group Claims Act. The Group Claims Act concerns claims in cases in which one type of claim is sought by at least ten claimants. The scope of the Group Claims Act is concentrated on consumer rights cases, dangerous product liability cases, and tort actions. A three-judge panel will decide upon the admissibil - ity of a group claim. If the court admits a claim, it will order the publication (on the court’s website, on the websites of the parties or their representatives, or in the press) of an appropriate announcement on the initiation of proceedings and will allow persons to join the proceedings within a period no shorter than one month and no longer than three months. Thus, the Group Claims Act uses the opt-in approach, which means that only those persons who expressly agreed to be included can be members of the group. The Group Claims Act allows for claiming both pecu - niary and non-pecuniary claims. A group must be represented by a claimant or repre - sentative, a person who is a group member, or a con - sumer ombudsman. When a claim results from activity of financial institutions (eg, banks, insurance compa - nies), a group may be represented by the Financial Ombudsman. Pursuant to the 2024 amendment to the Group Claims Act, a claim relating to protection of collective interests of consumers can be brought by an authorised representative, who will be registered by the OCCP. Under the Group Claims Act, an attorney can be paid in the form of a contingency fee based upon the amount of the value awarded. An attorney’s fee can - not exceed 20% of the awarded amount.
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