POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Justyna Kucia, Katarzyna Paczuska-Tokarska, Barnaba Skibniewski and Anna Tujakowska, Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak
1.4 National Courts In Poland, there are no specific courts designated to hear cases related to arbitration. Pursuant to the Pol - ish Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), common courts have jurisdiction to resolve disputes related to arbi - tration proceedings – eg, regarding the appointment of arbitrators, assisting with obtaining evidence, the setting aside of an award or enforcement and recogni - tion of the awards. Although not a single designated court, in each particular case it is the common court that would have had jurisdiction to resolve the case, if it had not been covered by the arbitration agreements. In Poland, international arbitration is governed by the CPC, specifically Part Five, which is dedicated to arbitration. This legislation is largely based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration and does not diverge from the Model Law in any significant way, ensuring that Poland aligns with internationally recognised standards. Poland is also a party to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and the European Convention on International Commercial Arbitration. 2.2 Changes to National Law In 2023, the CPC was amended, introducing the con - version of pending litigation to arbitration. 2. Governing Legislation 2.1 Governing Law Conversion entails concluding a submission agree - ment (a compromise) during pending proceedings before a state court and directing the case to arbitra - tion. Court proceedings are discontinued as a result of the conclusion of the submission agreement at the joint request of the parties. The plaintiff will be refund - ed ¾ of the court fee. However, the discontinuation of court proceedings does result in the fall of the previously granted interim measures and consequently opens up the possibility of seeking compensation for damage caused by the execution of the interim measures. Therefore, it seems that conversion may be less advantageous for plain -
tiffs and counterclaimants who have obtained interim measures for a claim before filing a lawsuit or during the course of the proceedings. The court examines ex officio whether the conclusion of the submission agreement by the parties or the cir - cumstances of the case show that discontinuance of the court proceedings would be contrary to the law or the principles of social co-existence, or would be aimed at circumventing the law – or whether the arbi - tration agreement is invalid or ineffective. If that is the case, the proceedings are not discontinued. The limitation period for the claims covered by the arbitration agreement starts anew from the date on which the decision to discontinue the proceedings becomes final. The converted case cannot go back to litigation. The court dismisses the claim or the application to com - mence non-litigation proceedings if it relates to a dis - pute that was the subject of a case discontinued as a result of conversion. Polish law has never prohibited conversion of court proceedings to arbitration. However, regulations intro - duced in 2023 explicitly provide for and regulate this process. 3. The Arbitration Agreement 3.1 Enforceability According to the CPC, an arbitration agreement must meet the following requirements. • An arbitration agreement must be made in writing. Requirements concerning the form of an arbitra - tion agreement are also met if such agreement is included in letters exchanged between the parties or statements made by means of remote commu - nication that enable their content to be recorded. Reference in a contract to a document containing a decision to bring a dispute before an arbitration tribunal must comply with the requirements con - cerning the form of an arbitration agreement if such agreement is made in writing and the reference incorporates that clause into the contract.
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