POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Justyna Kucia, Katarzyna Paczuska-Tokarska, Barnaba Skibniewski and Anna Tujakowska, Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak
Polish law does not provide for any other cases of review of an arbitral award by a common court.
set aside or its enforcement has been suspended by a court in the country of issue. If the award is subject to an ongoing set-aside pro - cedure in the country of the seat or elsewhere, Pol - ish courts can adjourn the enforcement proceedings. Such adjournment is, however, not mandatory and thus is decided on a case-by-case basis. Once an arbitral award has been recognised or declared enforceable, the same rules apply to its enforcement as to a judgment of a common court. This also applies to the issue of sovereign immunity. 12.3 Approach of the Courts In enforcement proceedings and setting-aside pro - ceedings, Polish courts are far more likely to rule in favour of upholding an arbitral award. Situations in which courts refuse enforcement or set aside an arbi - tral award are in the minority. The most common basis for refusing enforcement or setting aside an arbitral award is the public policy clause, understood as the domestic public policy clause. The basic principles of the legal order in force in Poland, constituting the domestic public policy, are the fundamental constitutional principles and the supreme principles governing individual areas of substantive and procedural law. There is no predeter - mined catalogue of such principles ‒ such a catalogue is shaped by the Polish courts’ jurisprudence on a case-by-case basis. 13. Miscellaneous 13.1 Class Action or Group Arbitration In principle, there is no class action arbitration or group arbitration in Poland. However, there is an exception with respect to social arbitration in labour matters in the Collective Disputes Settlement Act, which pro - vides for group arbitration. In such disputes, the trade union representing the interests of the employees acts as a party. The dispute is adjudicated by a dedicated institution, the College of Social Arbitration, at the dis - trict courts.
12. Enforcement of an Award 12.1 New York Convention
The Republic of Poland was one of the first ten signa - tories to the 1958 New York Convention and ratified the Convention in 1961. The Republic of Poland has signed the Convention, with both reservations pro - vided for in Article I(3) of the Convention. 12.2 Enforcement Procedure An arbitral award has force equal to a judgment of a common court once it has been recognised or declared enforceable by the common court. This applies to all arbitral awards, regardless of the coun - try of issue. The court of appeal is competent to recognise an arbi - tral award or declare it enforceable. The procedure takes place at the request of a party to the arbitration and is not time-barred. To request recognition or enforcement of an arbitral award, the applicant must file a motion with the court, which should be accompanied by the original award, or a copy certified by the arbitral tribunal, as well as the original arbitration agreement or an officially certi - fied copy. If any of these documents are not in Polish, a certified Polish translation must also be provided. Once the motion is served, the opposing party has two weeks to present its position to the court. Generally speaking, the court refuses to recognise or declare enforceable an award only if: • it concerned a dispute that is not arbitrable; • it is contrary to the fundamental principles of the legal order of the Republic of Poland; or • it limits consumer protection. However, the requirements for the recognition or enforcement of an arbitral award rendered outside the Republic of Poland are more restrictive. In particular, an arbitral award will not be recognised if it has not yet become binding between the parties, or if it has been
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